


The Crowd Will Love Ya, Kid

by commandersmartass



Series: Highschool Shenanigans [2]
Category: No Fandom, Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/F, Fluff and Humor, Implied Sexual Content, Light Angst, Mild Sexual Content, Minor Violence, No Smut, Past Sexual Assault, Recreational Drug Use, Slow Burn, Your Typical Nerd x Jock Cliche
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-08
Updated: 2018-06-08
Packaged: 2019-05-19 15:21:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 55,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14876288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/commandersmartass/pseuds/commandersmartass
Summary: In her senior year of high school, Amber Zaine doesn't really know how she's made it this far, suffering from past events that nearly made her quit in her junior year, though with the help of her two friends, Meredith Owens and Skylar Reeves, she's managed to push herself to the point where she's set for graduation, or, well, hopefully, as long as she passes. Having entered an art contest that could gift her a scholarship to college so that her mother doesn't have to empty her bank account to get her to college, you could expect Amber to be a little stressed out, and her budding social anxiety really doesn't help in the slightest.So when a certain athlete enters her life, and Amber realises her feelings for her might be a little more than platonic, you can expect that things begin to get even more stressful. And it really doesn't help when said athlete is ridiculously attractive, extremely flirtatious, but also seems to have quite literally no idea how to come to terms with her own feelings. It also doesn't help that Amber has no experience in a romantic relationship whatsoever outside of what she's read herself.Lord knows what'll happen, and it seems like only time will be able to tell.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've actually already written out all the chapters to this already so I'll be posting them all together but yeah. Thank you for checking this out if you do!

Amber came to basketball practice for something very, very simple.

Well, mainly because the swim team didn’t let other people spectate for some reason, and also because the football team was full of flirtatious jocks who always disregarded Amber’s sexuality, but also because this was the girl’s basketball team, not the men’s basketball team. 

This wasn’t because she was gay or anything, totally not.

Actually, it was really just because Skylar, one of Amber’s close friends, wanted her to come watch today. She had been asking for weeks now, however, this was the first time Amber actually gave in and actually came with her, since she knew she’d never stop asking if she kept declining. 

However, since she knew that Skylar was one of the girls on the team, and she’d rather avoid being called out by her as much as she could, Amber was sitting behind the bleachers instead of on them, peering out through the rectangular slits between each seat.

Well, for one thing, she could confirm that everyone on the entire team was attractive, however choosing which one to draw for her sketchbook proved to be rather difficult, until the team captain walked out, and Amber’s eyes widened slightly. 

Sporting the number six on her jersey, the girl had butterscotch coloured skin, long and messy black hair, and she sported one of the proudest smirks Amber had seen in her entire life, her teeth flashing in the light that shone from the ceiling. Amber also noticed a tattoo on her left bicep that spelt out “VI” in dark letters, which Amber guessed was either the Roman numeral or her actual name.

So this gave Amber a totally justifiable reason for staring at the girl for the next 30 minutes, occasionally looking down to draw her into her sketchbook.

It’s not like she hadn’t done this before. This happened whenever she found someone she thought stood out or liked. There were countless discarded sketches of girls that she had fallen for, ones who were either straight, weren’t interested in her or were already taken, so Amber was used to this, and she honestly didn’t expect anything different from the girl she was currently drawing.

Amber knew she wasn’t all that experienced with relationships. She had only been in one, with a boy named Drake long ago, from freshman year until their rocky breakup in her sophomore year, after she confirmed her sexuality, and they had never done anything but kiss, and he wasn’t even her first, Evelyn was.

Thinking of Evelyn made Amber frown, her eyes growing solemn, and she pushed the thoughts aside, focusing back on the girl playing basketball in front of her.

She was good, Amber could definitely see that, as she streaked across the court, dodging other people with ease as she played, and Amber watched with transfixed eyes as she easily tossed the ball into a hoop, turning around with that same toothy smirk Amber had seen earlier, laughing loudly.

And that only made Amber like her more, and she hardly noticed the faint pink tint that had grown on her cheeks as she watched and drew, her pencil making soft scratching noises against the paper.

Unfortunately, good things never last, and soon after, the coach blew her whistle, announcing that practice was over, and Amber let out a disappointed sigh, turning around to begin packing up, grabbing her pencils to put them back in her bag. 

For a moment, Amber thought she felt someone’s eye on her, and she turned around, only to find an empty court, as the team had disappeared into the locker room to change and go home, so Amber shrugged and put her pencil bag into her backpack, not noticing the figure creeping over behind her until she heard a voice ring out directly behind her.

“Hey, I thought I saw someone over here, what the hell are you doing back here?” says a voice, their tone soft, but noticeably intimidating and demanding. Amber shrieks, dropping her open sketchbook to the ground as she jolted back instinctively to get a few feet away from the person, turning around to face them and-

_Fuck._

It was the girl. The girl Amber had spent the past hour staring at. The girl Amber had been drawing. The girl who was now reaching down for her sketchbo- fuck.

“H-Hey wait, don’t touch that!” Amber protests, lunging forward to try and snatch the book from the girl. She was too late, however, the clearly taller girl lifting the book out of her reach so she couldn’t grab it. She smirks broadly before looking at the open page of the book, showing the newly drawn picture of the girl tossing a basketball into the basket, a smaller one below that one showing off the proud stance she had stood when scoring a point. Amber groans in embarrassment, her face growing redder by the second before she finally manages to yank the book out of the girl’s grasp, shutting it with a loud slam.

“I said don’t touch it,” she mutters, looking at the floor to hide the red on her face.

“Wait were you drawing me???” The girl asks, smiling slightly. “Those drawings were really good, man.” 

Amber shakes her head. “N-No, it wasn’t of you,” she stammers. She slowly begins to back up, only to be stopped by the taller girl grabbing her wrist abruptly.

“It was obviously of me, dude,” the other girl states, grinning. “The jersey has my number on it. Why’re you so embarrassed? Your art is amazing.”

Amber peers up at the girl with a dumbfounded look. She didn’t think she was being creepy? “You’re...not creeped out?”

“Why would I be? I love it when people illustrate my excellence,” the girl boasts, smirking as she let go of Amber’s wrist so she could flex, obviously showing off. Amber rolls her eyes, attempting to hide the pink colour slowly growing on her cheeks. “I don’t think I’ve ever had someone try to draw me before, actually,” she remarks thoughtfully, putting her hand to her chin in thought. “So this is a first, for me.”

Amber didn’t seem all too comforted by that still. “I-I, still, I should go,” she stammers, nervously backing up. The girl’s smirk fell, and she looked almost crestfallen as she looked back over at Amber.

“Wait! Don’t leave!” she exclaims suddenly, holding out a hand as if she were reaching for Amber’s. “You don’t have to go….I haven’t even introduced myself yet,” she adds, frowning. 

Amber nearly stayed back, as the sad look on the taller girl’s face made her feel absolutely horrible for thinking of running off, but she persevered, shaking her head rapidly as she backed up more, beginning to walk towards the double doors. The other girl walked forward in an obvious attempt to stop her again, before Amber decided to bolt, taking off towards the gym doors in a run.

“I-I’m sorry, I really have t-to go,” she stutters out before pushing the door open and dashing out, ignoring the slowly quieting calls that the girl behind her let out as she disappeared into the hallways of the school.

Did Amber feel bad? Oh hell yeah, but she was already nervous around almost all of the girls at this school that she hadn’t befriended yet, so there was no way in hell she’d risk embarrassing herself any more than she already had towards the _women’s basketball captain_ of all people. She’d rather stay invisible and out of sight than in the front page as “Most Likely to be an Embarrassment in her Future,” after all. 

Messaging Skylar to meet her in the front lobby as soon as she was finished changing so that they could walk home together, Amber decided that she’d discuss the basketball captain with her, as, hopefully, her best friend would understand. 

Hopefully.


	2. Chapter 2

Skylar ended up beating Amber to the lobby somehow, leaning against one of the benches towards the front while staring at her phone. When Amber saw her and walked over, however, she looked up, a broad grin appearing on her face as she moved forward to give her a tight hug.

“So~,” she begins, swaying a bit on her heels as she moved back from the hug. “How was hiding behind the bleachers for you? I’m sure you agree with me that I was the coolest and best player there?” she questions, giving Amber a cocky grin. “You don’t even have to answer, I know it’s true,” she adds, laughing. 

Amber rolls her eyes. “Mm, nope, sorry,” she replies, shrugging a little as she flashes a teasing smirk towards Skylar. “Shockingly, I had my eyes on somebody else this time.”

Skylar raises her eyebrows and places a hand on her chest dramatically. “How _dare_ you! I’m your best friend! This is treason!” she exclaims, crossing her arms across her chest, a pout on her face. “Who was it? Was it Rhino? Because, Amber, honey, you don’t want to go anywhere near that,” she comments, smirking a little. “Unless you’re into masochism.”

“Masochism?” Amber questions. “And….Rhino?”

“Yup~ Rhi’s into some kinky shit,” Skylar confirms, shrugging a little. “Oh, and, Rhino is what all of my team and I call her, and what I suggest you call her too,” she adds in explanation. “She doesn’t like using her real name.”

“So I don’t get to know her real name???”

“Nope,” Skylar replies, shaking her head. “Honestly, I think Vi is the only person who actually knows her real name, to be completely honest,” she remarks, raising an eyebrow. “They used to date, so I wouldn’t doubt it.”

“Vi….?” Amber questions, before remembering the tattoo that the basketball captain had on her bicep. “Oh! She’s the team captain, isn’t she?” she asks, smiling a little now that she could confirm who the captain was.

“Yup! Vitoli Lotis is her full name, but I wouldn’t call her by her full name, as she prefers going by Vi and would probably appreciate you more if you respecte- Wait, how did you know she was captain?” 

“Oh, well….” Amber begins, her cheeks beginning to burn in embarrassment. “She might’ve caught me behind the bleachers, and seen all the drawings of her I drew…” she murmurs, shrugging as she handed Skylar the sketchbook to look at them. She was the only person other than Evelyn that Amber had always been willing to let look through it, so she practically had all access to it.

As she looked at the sketches, Skylar’s expression changed from curious to excited, and she looked up at Amber with one of the broadest grins she’d ever seen as she shut the book.

“Oh my God,” she murmurs, beginning to giggle.

“What?” Amber asks, cocking an eyebrow.

“Oh my _God,_ ” Skylar repeats, now starting to laugh.

“Skylar, you need to fucking explain, not stare at me like I’m the best thing you’ve ever se-.”

“YOU- YOU HAVE A CRUSH ON V-,” Skylar suddenly burst out laughing, and Amber flinches as she notices people beginning to stare, so she quickly interrupts her.

“Stop yelling!” Amber groans in response, her face bright red with embarrassment. “Just because I decided to draw her doesn’t mean shit,” she adds, pouting. Skylar, however, did not slow the laughter leaving her lips, at this point doubling over to regain breath. 

“I bet you fucking do,” she eventually breathes out, her laughter finally beginning to slow after what seemed to be minutes upon minutes. “And I wouldn’t blame you. Vi’s pretty damn attractive, she’s athletic, and she has a….good enough personality,” she adds, smiling a little. “I think she’d like you, too.”

“Skylar, I don’t like her,” Amber repeats, her cheeks a dark shade of red. “Besides, I’m invisible compared to you and her team, she probably thinks I’m some weirdo, especially after she caught me drawing her earlier,” she adds, feeling a bit forlorn as she shut her mouth. 

“Bullshit,” Skylar protests, cocking an eyebrow while giving Amber a broad smirk. “You’re cute, you have a wonderful personality, and you’re extremely talented, why wouldn’t she like you?” she reasons, her grin only growing as Amber gave her a small, bashful smile.

“Well...thank you, I guess…” Amber murmurs. “But still, I don’t see the women’s basketball captain dating an invisible nerdy art student anytime soon, so I doubt she’ll ever see anything in me.” 

Skylar rolls her eyes. “Fine, Amber,” she sighs out, defeated. “But how about this, if you end up dating Vi by the end of the year, you owe me $20,” she offers, grinning cockily. “If you don’t end up dating her, I’ll give you $25 and post a video of myself on social media publicly admitting how wrong I was.”

“Deal,” Amber quickly responds, smirking broadly. She knew she’d probably win, anyways, since she was positive that Vi wouldn’t have any interest in her. So she looked up at Skylar cockily, raising her eyebrows. “You sure you want to bet something you know you’ll lose?”

Skylar chuckles. “Since I’ll be winning, and you’ll be getting your first girlfriend, honestly, what is there to lose?” 

Amber rolls her eyes. “I expect the $25 and the public confession as soon as school’s out for the summer,” she confirms, reaching forward to shake Skylar’s hand, which she had outstretched seconds before.

“And I expect the $20 and your relationship status to change by the end of the year,” she replied, smirking broadly. 

“Good,” Amber mutters, stepping back a little from the handshake. “Now that we’ve got that set up, can we head home now? I’m starving and wanna get comfortable in bed, not in a bench at school.”

“Fine,” Skylar agrees, rolling her eyes amusedly. “Oh, and Amber?”

“Yes?”

“Vi’s super into submissive girls, so you should have no problem getting her to like y-”

“Stop talking.”

\-------------------------------------

“Rhi, she was adorable, you have to believe me here.”

“Mhm, keep talking Vi,” Rhino mutters, pulling her backpack onto her shoulder as she began turning towards the doors of the locker room. “You say that about a lot of girls, you know.”

“Yeah but this one was _super_ adorable. More adorable than all the others.”

“How so? Because, again, Vi, you say that every time you meet a new girl, so I’m not that intrigued, to be honest.”

Vi pouts a little. “I don’t do that everytime,” she complains, following Rhino out of the locker room and the gym, heading into the front lobby. “But seriously, Rhi, I saw her hiding behind the bleachers, and she was _drawing_ me,” she explains, smiling as she remembered looking at the sketches. “And oh my God they were such good drawings, I mean, really good. And she stuttered a lot and she was so cute an-”

“Okay, okay, I think I get it, Romeo,” Rhino cut in, giving Vi an exasperated look. “I get it, she’s cute,” she started, crossing her arms as she faced Vi. “But don’t you think that’s a little creepy?”

“What?”

“Vi, she was literally staring at you through the bleachers and drawing you secretly. Doesn’t that sound a little stalkerish?”

Vi furrowed her eyebrows, searching for reasons to defend the girl she had met earlier. “Maybe she has social anxiety and doesn’t like to be seen?” she pondered aloud, shrugging. “Either way, it’s fine by me. I don’t really mind if people draw me, behind bleachers or not.”

“That’s because you’re a gay dweeb who will literally accept anything nice from a girl,” Rhino retorts. “Scratch that, you’d let a girl punch you in the face if you found her attractive enough.”

“Oh, shut up…” Vi grumbles, crossing her arms across her chest with a large scowl on her face.

“What did the girl look like, if you don’t mind me asking?” Rhino suddenly asks, her expression softening to a more curious one. “I might know her, maybe.”

“Oh, uhm…” Vi began, remembering every feature of the girl almost instantly. “She was small, like, she only made it barely over my shoulder,” she explains, trying to get everything right. “She had strawberry blonde hair that went to her shoulders, or maybe a bit higher, I couldn’t tel-”

“Vi, does she have any distinguishing features?”

“Oh, uhm, yeah, I noticed the beginnings of what looked like a sleeve tattoo under her jacket sleeve on her right arm, and her eyes were this mesmerizingly light shade of blue, Rhi, I mean, they looked like ice, they were so lightly coloured,” she rambled, smiling as she remembered everything about this girl. “Oh, and she had freckl-”

“Oh, wait!” Rhino suddenly called out. “I know who she is!” she adds, looking over at Vi with a slight grin. “She hangs out with Skylar all the time, they’re best friends,” she explains, “There used to be three of them, but last year one of them suddenly disappeared. I don’t know what happened, though.”

Vi suddenly remembered her, remembering that she had usually seen the girl walking with Skylar to practice before she left, especially the one time last year, where they both walked over looking somber and sullen, and the girl had looked like she was about to fall apart where she had stood. Skylar had, of course, brushed off any questions directed towards it, however.

“Oh, her!” Vi exclaims, smiling. “That might explain why she was at practice!” she thought out loud. “I’m guessing Skylar dragged her there since she was hiding behind the bleachers?”

“Vi, how the fuck would I know? Ask her yourself,” Rhino grunts, rolling her eyes. “And where the actual hell is your brother?” she asks, glancing outside the windows. “He’s supposed to pick us up, and I really don’t want to get kicked out into the cold weather anytime soon.”

Vi rolls her eye in response to Rhino’s eye roll, smiling in amusement as she watches Rhino whine about the cold weather. “He’ll be here any minute now, Rhi, he has work, remember?” she responds, although not blaming Rhino for her reluctance to be anywhere outside for long. It was getting colder and colder as winter progressed, and walking home was becoming more and more uncomfortable. Both of their houses were on the far side of the neighbourhood, as well, which caused their walk to be rather long and tedious.

“But I’m so tired of school,” Rhino complains, groaning. “And you’re fucking boring when we run out of things to talk about,” she adds, scowling at Vi. 

Vi bristles in annoyance. “Fuck off, I am _not_ boring,” she argues. “I’m anything but that.”

“You’re right,” Rhino suddenly agrees, taking Vi aback. “You’re childish, cocky, and way too proud for your own good,” she states, laughing as Vi’s face screws up in anger. “So deal with it.”

“I’m wonderful, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Vi dismisses, scowling. “Just you wait, I’ll get a girlfriend and she’ll tell you the same thing.”

“Who is this nonexistent girlfriend you speak of, Vi? Do I know her?” Rhino teases, bumping into her shoulder playfully. “Oh, do you intend on wooing that one girl you mentioned earlier~?” 

Vi felt her face heat up, and she groaned audibly, glaring at Rhino. “Listen-,” she begins, biting her lip to prevent her blush from spreading, “I _might_ be a little interested-”

“Seriously?” Rhino interrupts loudly, looking oddly surprised, causing people to stare at them with curious looks, much to Vi’s embarrassment. “I mean, I guess it was super obvious, but holy fucking shit Vi, I cannot believe you’ve officially fallen into the “popular jock and invisible art nerd” trope.”

“It’s the best trope out there, you know,” Vi comments, trying to hide her embarrassment. “Nerds are cute, in my opinion.”

“You think every girl is cute.”

“True.”


	3. Chapter 3

The next day seemed to come by quickly, in Amber’s eyes. It could be because Amber fell asleep almost as soon as she got home, due to her being almost incessantly tired, but Amber would likely deny that and accuse it of being some “timey wimey bullfuckery” as she usually does when thinking of excuses.

Per usual, Amber started out the day sluggishly, practically dragging herself through her first and second periods before she got in third period with Skylar, who would poke or kick Amber from the desk behind her to keep her awake. Fourth period was forensic science, which Amber was actually interested in, so she actually tried to stay conscious for that.

After that was B-Lunch, which was Amber’s lunch period. Amber would always run to the cafeteria, as her class was two hallways away from the lunchroom, and the lines got long fast, so she’d usually be one of the first few people there. This time was no different.

Although, she didn’t expect someone to suddenly step in front of her as she entered the cafeteria.

Now, technically, this wasn’t Amber’s fault, as the person appeared from behind a wall and into the busy hallway. It was Amber’s fault for running in the hall, however, but she would never admit that. 

But she still did run right into her, and it sent Amber onto the floor with a yelp, the person she had run into being able to handle the hit a bit better, as they were still standing. Amber took a second to process what happened and she blinked, looking up at the person who she had run into, who stood in front of her, and her stomach flipped.

_Ah, shit_

It was the girl from yesterday, of fucking course it was. She did look concerned, granted, but it didn’t stop Amber’s cheeks from heating up in embarrassment, and she covered her face, groaning.

“Fuck, look, I’m sorry-”

“Are you okay?” Vi interjects, crouching in front of Amber, seeming to forget that they were in a hallway. The people passing them spared a glance, whispering a little bit to their peers, but continued to their destinations either way. “I didn’t mean to run into you.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Amber responds, nodding as she tried to hide her embarrassment. “Just a bit dazed.” Vi seems to not believe her, but she stands up anyways, offering her hand out to Amber, who gratefully takes it, letting Vi pull her to her feet.

As Vi manages to get a proper look at Amber, her eye widens in recognition, and she grins a little, her grip on Amber’s hand, which she still had, tightening a bit.

“Hey, you’re that girl from yesterday!” she exclaims, now grinning broadly. Amber seems to flinch at that, biting her lip. 

“L-Look, please don’t make this a big deal,” she stammers, self consciously looking around herself, becoming even more conscious when she caught someone staring. “I’m sorry for running into you, it’s not your fault, just please don’t bring this up to anyone else.”

People were staring at Amber, possibly making fun of her in their heads, and who knows how many pictures of her could have been taken. Her social anxiety was flaring up, and she bit her lip harder, trying to not focus on the people around her. She looked up at Vi, hoping that she might see her freaked out expression as some sort of message that she wanted to leave the hallway so she could breathe. 

\-------------------------------

Vi gives Amber a concerned look, noticing that she was nervously looking around her, and when Amber looks up at her, Vi realizes how scared the shorter girl looked, taking quick glances at the people near them, and took that as a sign that Amber wanted to get to a lesser populated area. Her grip tightening on Amber’s hand, Vi gently pulls her forward, and she lead Amber to the gym, which she knew would be empty during this period, as she’d sometimes skip lunch to practice there.

Opening the double doors as quietly as possible, Vi quickly pulls Amber inside and over to the bleachers, letting the smaller girl sit down so she could breathe properly. Vi sits beside her, and nearly places her hand on Amber’s shoulder as a sign of reassurance, before she halts.

“Can I touch you?” 

Amber, who for a solid second thought Vi had left, not expecting her to stay, stiffens, but she nods slowly, her hands clenching and unclenching as she looks down at her knees, seemingly staring off into space. Vi slowly and gently places her hand on Amber’s shoulder, looking at her worriedly.

“Hey, it’s okay…” she breathes, squeezing her shoulder gently. “Did I freak you out?”

“N-No,” Amber stutters, looking over at Vi slowly. “I just-” she breathes, “I just don’t like it when so many people stare at me, it freaks me out.”

“Oh,” Vi mutters, although she couldn’t really relate. Vi was used to that, as people did stare at her when she played basketball, and she had never had a problem with it, she liked the attention. She supposed that Amber wasn’t the same.

“You don’t like attention?”

“Not when I’m embarrassed, no,” Amber mumbles, beginning to calm down. “I can deal with it easily otherwise, but when I’m embarrassed I-,” her words began to waver. “I just can’t help but think about how many people are making fun of me or talking about me and it just freaks me out because I don’t want to be made fun of, I don’t want to be the laughing stock, I just want to be invisible,” she rambles, breathing heavily after she let out everything so fast. 

Vi furrows her eyebrows. “You just bumped into me, how is that-” she begins, before realizing that Amber falling had been the main reason people were staring at them. “Oh.”

Amber nods weakly, sighing. “I’m sorry, I’m pathetic, aren’t I,” she mutters, laughing bitterly. “You can just call me a pussy and leave, if you want.”

“Hey, hey, I’m not going to just leave you here, let alone insult you,” Vi responds, shaking her head. 

“I can tell you want to in your head.”

Vi sighs. “I won’t lie to you, my first thought was to just tell you to man up and get over it, but you had some sort of anxiety attack over that, that shit happens and you can’t control it, it’s not your fault.”

Amber looks at her slowly. “Well...uhm..thanks..I guess..”

“Don’t mention it,” Vi nods, giving Amber a friendly smile. 

Amber nodded in response, her hands, which she had clamped onto the edge of the bleachers they were sitting on, finally relaxing as she, for the first time, took in her surroundings. 

“Oh,” she murmurs, “so we’re back here again.”

Vi grins awkwardly. “I suppose we are,” she responds, shrugging her shoulders as she tried to explain. “It’s the only place I knew would be empty, sorry.”

Amber shakes her head. “Don’t apologize. It’s much better than the bathrooms,” she grins a little, “they all reek of death.”

“”Reek of death.” This isn’t Shakespeare, sweetheart, you can say “they smell like shit”,” Vi teases, chuckling. Amber cocks an eyebrow at her in response, giving her an incredulous look.

“Was Shakespeare the only person you could think of for that?” she questions, although she was obviously holding back laughter. “I think you’re looking along the lines of more eighteenth century writers, not someone who used “Whence” and “Thyself” as terms and lived in a time where “biting thee by the ear” was considered a term of endearment.”

Vi’s chuckling only grew into full on laughter at what Amber had tried to explain, and it took her a few moments to calm down. “Holy _shit,_ ” she began, trying to catch her breath, “you’re such a fucking _nerd!_ ”

Amber’s face grew warm, and she frowns, biting her lip a little. “I-I- Oh shut up!” she groans, rolling her eyes. “I was just trying to correct you.”

“By being a goddamn dork, yeah,” Vi retorts, grinning toothily. “Besides, biting someone on the ear is something couples do, you know.”

“Wait, seriously?”

The look on Amber’s face seemed shockingly surprised, and Vi stifles back more laughter. “Well, typically from what I’ve seen, it’s used as a way to flirt with or tease someone, but yeah, it is.”

Amber seems to take this into thought, which made the laughter that had threatened to break through Vi’s lips escape, and she nearly doubles over because of it. “Are you seriously that innocent, kid?”

Amber’s face turns a bright shade of red, and she shakes it quickly. “I-I’m not innocent!” she stammers, glaring at Vi. “I read fanfic-” she begins, before seemingly realizing that what she was saying would just result in more teasing from Vi, whose face resembled someone who had struck gold as what Amber said registered in her head.

“Ohhh my god.”

“Vi, don’t-”

“You-”

“Vi, ”

“YOU’RE SUCH A GODDAMN DWEEB,” Vi guffaws, nearly falling over as she laughs, making Amber groan in embarrassment, covering her face with her hands. “YOU’RE SO _ADORABLE_ HOLY FUCK.”

That makes Amber’s face darken in colour, and she bites her lip a little to attempt to stop it, even though her face was already covered by her hands.

Vi stops yelling, but her laughter ceases to slow, and she looks over at Amber’s obvious attempts to cover her blushing face with a broad grin. “You’re such a wimpy loser,” she begins, and before Amber could register that she adds; “but you’re a cute wimpy loser.”

The last part of what Vi said had been said quietly, as if she were trying to make sure Amber didn’t hear it, but it wasn’t quiet enough, and Amber stiffens at the compliment, looking up at Vi. “What did you say?” she asks, trying to see if she misheard.

Vi seems to stiffen as well, a faint blush appearing on her face, and she looks at Amber awkwardly. “I-” she stammers, “I...I said you’re a wimpy loser with a big heart!” she fibs, laughing awkwardly.

“That sounded nowhere close to what I heard, Vi,” Amber argues, raising an eyebrow. 

Vi shrugs, looking obviously guilty as she tried to think of an excuse. “I mean, I said it really quietly, so who knows what you heard! Ha…” 

It was a really lame excuse, Vi knew that well enough, but Amber seemed to not want to argue about it, so she pretended to accept it.

“Well, if you say so.”

“I know so.”

Amber smiles at the taller girl, and Vi grins back at her, noticing just then how much she liked Amber’s smile. It wasn’t like the massive shit-eating grins Vi would usually give off, and it lacked the crookedness that Vi’s smirks usually had. It had sort of struck Vi then and there that she genuinely wanted to see how big of a smile Amber could create, and a small part of her really wanted to keep making her smile. Only a small part though.

Looking up at the clock so she could distract herself from her thoughts, Vi sighs, noticing that they had only around five more minutes until lunch ended for them. She looked back at Amber, who had seemingly followed Vi’s gaze, a frown replacing the smile that had been growing on her face only seconds earlier. 

“Oh...lunch is about to end,” she murmurs, sighing. “It went by fast.”

“Well, you know what they say,” Vi breathes, looking a bit forlorn. “Time flies when you’re having fun.”

Amber seems to revert back to her nervous state, looking towards the door worriedly. “Do you think people will stare at me if they see me? After what happened?”

Vi frowns, and she looks over at Amber, her eye narrowing as she gently places a hand under Amber’s chin, making the other girl lock eyes with her. “Listen to me,” she whispers, the suddenly serious look in her eye piercing Amber’s own. “Even if people do stare, say shit about you, whatever, don’t listen to them. Don’t let some petty assholes get under your skin. Toughen your skin, if you can, and try to man up, okay?”

Amber’s eyes had grown wide as Vi spoke to her, and she nods slightly, smiling again, which made Vi involuntarily smile back, a bit relieved that the other girl seemed to be calming down again.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Amber murmurs, grinning a bit more now. “I fell, everyone does that. I’m not gonna let people make fun of me when they do the same shit sometimes too,” she add, nodding more briskly now. “I’ll toughen up, like you said, or at least try too.”

Vi gives Amber a warm smile at her response, and she stands up slowly as they reached the two minute mark. “How about today, and today only, I give you a free pass, and walk you to your next class?” she suggests, stifling a laugh at the dumbfounded look Amber gives her in response. “I know I told you to toughen up, but you start doing that tomorrow. It’d be rude for me to let you go without being there to fight anyone who tries to be a dick to you, after all, my lady,” she adds, her last sentence coming out as a semi-flirtatious coo as Vi returns to her normal cocky attitude, which makes Amber’s face heat up.

“I...I..uhm, s-sure!” Amber stutters, scratching the back of her head awkwardly as she bites her lip. “I have home ec next, so you’ll have to take me upstairs if that’s okay.”

Vi nods, although she knew she’d have to ask Amber for directions once they left. Although, the whole “home ec” thing made Vi chuckle a bit involuntarily, and she felt like she had to tease Amber about it.

“Home Ec? In your senior year? Isn’t that something they teach in middle school?” 

Amber’s cheeks grow warm in embarrassment, and she pouts a little. “I..It was the only elective I hadn’t picked yet that sounded interesting,” she groans, shrugging. “Plus...I...admittedly, can’t cook for shit, and so I need to learn some basics before I get shoved off to college,” she adds, trying to keep her voice low as she spoke as if she didn’t want Vi to hear.

Vi, however, caught everything Amber had said, and she bursts into laughter, feeling a little bad for it, but she couldn’t help but laugh at that. “You seriously can’t cook?” she breathes out, trying to control her laughter. “Aren’t you like, eighteen or something?”

Amber’s face grows red again. “S-Shut up! I just get nervous around the stove, that’s all!”

“Did you like, set fire to your house as a child or something?” Vi giggles, her laughter slowing, but not completely ceasing. 

“I...burned water...once..”

Vi actually stops laughing at this, and she takes a long look at Amber, her lips slightly parted as she tried to think about how someone could burn _water._

“You... _what?_ ”

“I...once tried to boil water, and I forgot about it and left the pot there, and it boiled for so long the water evaporated and the stove burned the base of the pot, leaving this black mark, so technically yes, I burned water.”

Vi bit her lip hard, trying her hardest not to laugh, although this time it was obvious that she was trying to stifle laughter, as small giggles would slip past her lips as she looked elsewhere, trying to hide her expression from Amber, whose face was bright red as she grew more and more embarrassed.

Thankfully for Amber, the bell had begun to ring seconds after that, and Vi jumps a little as the shrill noise pierces the once quiet air around them, and she sighs, her laughter subsiding.

“Well, Master Chef, I suppose I should take you to your class, then?” Vi asks, grinning over at Amber, whose face was finally returning to it’s normal pale hue. 

“Yeah...I suppose you should,” Amber mutters, rolling her eyes at the name Vi had given her. “But don’t call me ‘Master Chef’. It’s embarrassing,” she complains, pouting a little as she looks over at Vi.

Vi smirks, an almost evil glint appearing in her eye for a split second, but she nods at Amber, and she had begun to reach her left hand out to grab Amber’s, however she halts, moving back, realizing that she didn’t need to help the girl around anymore, so her gesture would probably not be well received by the shorter girl. She instead turns around and begins to walk towards the gym doors, looking behind her shoulder to see if Amber would follow her. 

Amber, at first, gave Vi an almost dejected look when she began to walk away, thinking that she had changed her mind and was leaving her, however, when Vi looked behind her shoulder, Amber saw a large friendly smile instead of an annoyed look, and she involuntarily grins back at her. Realizing that Vi was waiting for her to follow, one hand pressing gently on the handle of the gym door, Amber quickly walks over to Vi, letting the taller girl open the door for her as she walked into the hallway.

Once in the hallway, Vi immediately starts walking towards the staircase near the cafeteria, occasionally looking behind her to make sure that Amber was still with her in the slightly crowded hallway. When they reach the staircase, Vi turns around so she could ask Amber what room number her Home Ec class was, her answer being 2100. Vi nods in response, and, noticing how crowded the staircase was, grabs onto Amber’s hand as they head up, although she knew the shorter girl most likely didn’t need it.

Amber points her through the hallways upstairs after that, helping her find the quickest route to her class, and they get there with two minutes to spare, Vi looks over at Amber with a slightly cocky grin, tilting her head at the classroom door as if she were bragging about how fast they got there. It makes Amber giggle, and she then realizes that Vi had to get to class too, and she frowns a little, realizing that she’d probably not see the girl again after this.

“Well,” Amber sighs, rubbing the nape of her neck with her hand, “you have class too, I’m guessing, so I guess you should go…”

Vi looked crestfallen as she realizes that, and she slowly nods. “Yeah, I do,” she sighs. “Calculus,” she adds, scowling. She already despised calculus as it was, and this was just making her hate it more. 

“Thank you, again, Vi,” Amber murmurs, smiling up at the other girl. “I really appreciate it.”

“Don’t mention it,” Vi responds, smiling back. “I had fun talking to you, we should do it again sometime.”

Amber laughs, shaking her head. “Nonsense. You’ll just realise how boring I am if you keep talking to me.”

“Well,” Vi murmurs, a bit of a flirtatious tone beginning to coat her words. “I guess I’ll be the judge of that, will I?” she questions, pulling her phone out of the right pocket of her sweatpants. “Can I give you my number?”

Amber’s jaw goes slack for a moment, her eyes wide as her face darkens a bit, and she stumbles a little as she pulled out her own phone, nodding dumbly. 

“O-Oh, uhm, s-sure!” she stutters, unlocking her phone with a few quick taps before she hands it to Vi, her hands shaking a little. Vi doesn’t comment on the background image on Amber’s phone- she didn’t think it would be appropriate, really, as the picture was of Amber and the missing girl from last year,- and she quickly opens her contacts, adding her number in before she takes a quick look at Amber’s phone number, typing it into her own phone. 

“There,” Vi states, smiling at Amber as she returns her phone to her, “I’ll text you after school before I start practice if I have time,” she adds, “But for now, I should get to class.”

“O-Oh, right,” Amber stammers, still a bit shocked over Vi’s offer to even talk to her again. “I guess I’ll see you later, then?” she asks, opening the door to her class as she spoke.

Vi laughs a little as if the question Amber asked was obvious. “Definitely. See you soon, nerd,” she responds, nodding before she turns around and bolts down the hallway until she made a right turn, disappearing from Amber’s sights.


	4. Chapter 4

As Amber sat through Home Ec, she thought about the girl again, and a small smile grew on her face, so much so that one of the members of her group, Meredith, jabbed her in the shoulder with her elbow to snap her out of her reverie. 

“Hey, nerd,” she calls out, peering over at Amber as she spoke. “Quit staring off into goddamn space and help us out here, before Monroe breaks another toaster oven.”

Monroe, or, lesser known by her first name, Acelyn, was currently busy trying to figure out how to work the knobs on the, in her defence, ancient looking toaster ovens, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. In their last class, the brunette accidentally pulled off one of the knobs while working, and it was a miracle that the teacher let her go without punishment, as she was usually pretty strict. 

Amber’s group decided not to question it, though.

Speaking of which, Amber’s group contained six people, herself, Meredith Owens, Monroe, Ezekiel Vance, Clarke Rowan, and Anya Volkov. It wasn’t put together by choice, as if it were Amber would have just tried to work by herself.

That wasn’t because she disliked the people in her group, of course. Ezekiel was just a massive softie that didn’t even look menacing, Clarke was a small, artistic ball of energy that could easily get along with Amber, Anya was quiet and seemed to only care about Clarke, and Meredith may be a jerk at times, but she got along with Amber insanely well, as the two were best friends. Amber just preferred to work alone.

Speaking of her group, Ezekiel seemed to be attempting to coax Monroe away from the toaster oven, as she had seemingly grown tired of its lack of power, a bang coming from the spot she was sitting at as she hit the palm of her hand against the top of the toaster oven. Amber rolls her eyes, and Meredith scowls in disapproval. 

“Fuckin’ dumbass, just let someone else use the damn thing!” Meredith calls out, her annoyed expression remaining unchanged even when Monroe glares at her. She looks over at Amber, cocking an eyebrow, before she moves so she could sit next to her at their table, nudging her in the shoulder.

“What’s got you so distracted, cutie?” she asks, glancing over at Amber’s phone, which she seemed to be messing with absentmindedly. 

“Nothing, just a new friend,” Amber responds bluntly, staring at the empty textlog on her screen as if waiting for some sign to show that Vi was sending her a message.

“What kind of friend~” Meredith teases, laughing when Amber swats her shoulder playfully in response. 

“Get your mind out of the gutter,” she retorts, rolling her eyes, “she’s a basketball player, not a prostitute.”

“Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if half the basketball team were into prostitution,” Meredith comments, ignoring the dirty look Amber sent her. “But which player did you meet, if I may ask?”

“Vi Lotis.”

“The captain? Damn, from someone who always tries to stay invisible, you seem to be making friends in high places,” Meredith teases, “and I thought Reeves was a reach for you.”

“Skylar and I have been friends since middle school, popularity makes no difference,” Amber grunts, rolling her eyes. “Just because she’s known by more people than me doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.”

Meredith sighs, looking at Amber with some sort of a patronizing look in her eyes, which was uncommon for her, “Look, Amb, Reeves is different, she isn’t as noticed and isn’t as important, in the public’s eye, she’s just one of the players, the captain however, is in the spotlight. Everyone wants to be her friend.”

“So?”

“I’m just saying you’re lucky, I guess. Don’t screw it up.”

“I wouldn’t. Besides, we’ve only talked twice, she might not really see me as a friend.”

Meredith shrugs. “I wouldn’t give my number to someone I didn’t consider my friend, so I’m sure she sees you that way.”

“I hope so.”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine, nerd, you’re pretty easy to get along with anyways, when you’re not being mopey and sullen,” Meredith states, glancing up at the clock as the bell began to ring.

Amber rolls her eyes as she begins to pack up her things. “Thanks, Mer, you really know how to cheer someone up.”

“I know.”


	5. Chapter 5

Amber got through her sixth and seventh period a bit easier, seeing as they were both literature and art class, both of which she excelled at. Skylar had practice after school, so, per usual, Amber would just stick around in the art room so she could plan and sketch ideas for the art contest at the end of the year.

If she won, she’d get a scholarship for art, which was something Amber needed, as she wasn’t sure her family could even afford for her to get to college, so coming up with the perfect idea had been rough enough as it was. She needed to do something better than anything else she’s done, something that would for sure get her to victory.

But, so far, nothing had come to mind.

Sure, she’d sketched out countless things, and yeah, she had until the end of the year, which gave her plenty of time, but Amber was painting this, she had to have this entire thing planned out before she did it, and Amber could not risk getting halfway through an idea before realising that she didn’t like it.

So stress had obviously begun to overtake her. 

The rumours floating around her class that her teacher was planning to drop a surprise project for them to do over winter break were not helping, either, as Amber was now terrified that her teacher would indeed push a sudden project on them, which would just add to her workload. It wouldn’t be unexpected from him either, as he loved surprising their classes, no matter how much the students usually loathed such surprises. 

Amber let these thoughts fill her brain as she sat at her table, crumpled of pieces of paper lying on the floor beside her, when she felt a sharp jab at her shoulder, and she yelped loudly, narrowly missing the perpetrator with her sketchbook as she quickly turned around, her eyes wide.

The said perpetrator was sporting a very similar expression to Amber, her grey eyes flitting over to Amber’s sketchbook and back to Amber as if she thought the smaller girl was going to attack her with it. Amber, recognizing the person who had so rudely broken past her large bubble of personal space, glanced behind them, gulping as she noticed the much taller figure behind them glowering down at her. She slowly returned her gaze to the girl in front of the tall figure, a long sigh leaving her lips.

“Clarke, please, don’t take what I’m about to say to heart,” she begins, smiling passively in a way that didn’t seem to reassure the other girl in the slightest, “but in what _fucking_ world did you ever think scaring me like that was okay?!”

The girl, Clarke, smiles awkwardly, shrugging. “I just- Anya and I saw you working alone,” she begins, gently leaning against the taller girl behind her, who now just looked bored and uninterested as she gently slings one of her arms around Clarke’s shoulders. “And we just wanted to check up on you, or, well, I wanted to,” she adds, glancing up at Anya, who shrugged in response.

Amber took in the two of them slowly. Clarke was small, maybe an inch taller than Amber, and half her head was shaved, the other half incredibly long, as the front sort of formed a fringe that didn’t quite cover her left eye, but nearly did. The rest was tied in a long, messy braid so that it wouldn’t get in the other girl’s face. Clarke loved the colours blue and purple, and it was incredibly obvious in her appearance, as the girl’s hair was dyed a mix of it, the top dyed purple, and turned into blue as it went down. She sported very baggy purple pants, and a black jacket, and Amber had a massive hunch that Clarke wasn’t wearing anything underneath it, as the girl seemed to think shirts were the devil anytime they weren’t in school. It was a miracle that she never got dress coded, as she knew that anytime Clarke got hot she’d unzip the jacket as low as she could before Anya would notice and stop her.

Speaking of Anya, Amber decided to risk looking at her, knowing that the taller girl didn’t usually like it when people stared. Anya was _tall_ , too, contrasting against Clarke’s measly 5’3 at 6’2, and her auburn hair was cut into a messy, unkempt pixie cut, slightly covering her steel coloured eyes. Anya wasn’t really into wearing bright, colourful things like Clarke, as the taller girl seemed to be sporting a black muscle shirt today, a red and black flannel tied around her waist, and Amber’s eyes traveled to her shoulders, where two matching tattoos rested, both being a mess of barbed wire and flowers that twisted across her tan skin until they hit her elbows. Amber knew that there was more to the tattoos, but she had never gotten close enough to look.

Anya didn’t hate Amber, or, Amber was pretty sure she didn’t, but Anya also wasn’t the most friendly person in the world, and although she acknowledged Amber as a friend, she never got very close with her, and friend or not anyone who scared or might have accidentally almost hit Clarke with a sketchbook were always sent searing glares.

Amber sometimes questioned how two people with such contrasting personalities could work together so well, but then Amber would remember her own past relationship held those qualities as well. Not that Drake ever had a personality, though.

Suddenly, Amber felt another jab at her shoulder, and she glances over to see Clarke giving her a worried look, as she realized that she had zoned out a little when she was looking at the two girls in front of her, and Amber’s cheeks heat up a little in embarrassment.

“O-Oh, well, uhm, I’m fine, thanks,” Amber finally responds, smiling an awkward, lopsided smile. “But thank you for caring.”

Clarke chuckles in response, nodding. “Of course, don’t mention it!” 

Amber couldn’t help but smile toothily back in response, nodding back, and she noticed Clarke gently pull on the front of Anya’s shirt until she leans down to Clarke’s height, and she watches as the smaller girl whispers something in the taller girl’s ear. Anya seems to think about what Clarke had said, glancing over at Amber for a moment, before giving Clarke a brisk nod, standing back up to her full height as Clarke turned to look at Amber with a broad smile.

“Hey, I know how important this art thing is to you, but Anya and I were going to go out for coffee before we saw you, and we were wondering if you’d like to come with us?” she offers, and sure enough, Anya gives Amber a short smile, but the look in the taller girl’s eyes made Amber quickly realise that saying no to Clarke was probably not the best option.

If Anya wasn’t over six feet, wasn’t on the wrestling team, and wasn’t able to scare her with a single look, Amber probably would have said no and gotten back to her project.

And although she knew Anya would never lay a hand on her unless she actually hurt Clarke, Amber didn’t want to take any chances.

“Sure, I guess I’ll tag along, but are you sure I’m not intruding on a date or anything?”

“Nah, you’re fine!” Clarke laughs, smiling toothily. “We asked Meredith earlier, but she declined. Apparently, there was a fight happening behind the school or something that she couldn’t miss.”

Amber rolled her eyes. If that was the case, Meredith was probably the one fighting, and she made a mental note to buy bandages on her way home, as anytime Meredith got in fights with people she’d crash at Amber’s house, claiming that she was too tired to walk home when, in reality, she’d be avoiding her parents at her own house.

Not that Amber ever minded. Meredith was a good friend, after all, and she’d usually bring Amber alcohol whenever she came over anyway. So it was a win-win for the both of them.

“I’m not surprised,” Amber mutters, shrugging. She sighs, packing up her sketchbook slowly. She knew that she was going to regret going out to get coffee with Clarke and Anya as soon as she got home, and as she dumped her discarded sketches in the trash bin she came to terms with how stressed that would also make her once she got home, muttering curses under her breath, knowing that she’d probably spend the entire night awake and stressed as all hell as punishment. 

Grabbing the strap to her bookbag and slinging it over her shoulder, Amber walks over to Clarke and Anya with a faux smile on her face, following them outside the art room and to the parking lot with worrisome thoughts already beginning to flood through her head.


	6. Chapter 6

In Vi’s opinion, practice was going pretty well for the entire team, not counting the few people she had to reprimand for trying to sneak out of practice.

Yes, she pushed her team to it’s limit, but they had a game coming up in two days, and Vi wanted everything to be perfect, and she didn’t want to see anyone come to the game inexperienced.

There were to be no distractions during practice, no matter what happened.

The echoing sounds of shoes hitting the floor rang through the gym as Vi runs through the court along with her teammates, and her eye stayed right on the ball as it was tossed back and forth throughout the gym. Whenever she got her hands on the ball she’d assess every person she could pass it to. Who could catch the ball easily, who had a chance of being intercepted, all those thoughts ran through Vi’s head as she chose one of her teammates and threw the ball towards them, smirking broadly when they caught it.

Sure, Vi was cocky as all hell, but she took basketball seriously. This was the thing she was getting into college with, after all.

It was a repeated process, only made different when Vi swapped people from team to team between practice matches. It didn’t change much unless Vi put someone she knew were good onto the other team. Sometimes she’d make a team of especially good players against a group that she knew needed to work harder. It pushed them to succeed, whether they lost or not.

When the coach called for practice to end, even Vi had to admit she was tired, and she took a seat on the bleachers with a long sigh after she changed, wiping the sweat off her brow. Rhino was talking to someone in the locker room, and mostly everyone else had left, so Vi was alone in the gym, which left her able to text Amber in peace.

No, she hadn’t forgotten to text the other girl, practice had just started later than she wanted, and she had warned Amber that she might not have had time after all, so she was sure she’d understand. 

Though, for some reason, Vi was having trouble figuring out what to say first. Normally, if she managed to get a girl’s number, she’d be her normal flirtatious self and start of with something flirty, but she was worried that doing so would make Amber uncomfortable, which Vi in no way wanted. She supposed starting off with a simple “hey” would have to do, but Vi found that incredibly boring, and she found herself reluctantly starting off with that, a small scowl on her face as she did.

After that, Vi added a small apology for her not texting her immediately after school, even though a part of her still felt as if she didn’t need to apologize. She just did it just in case, however.

When Amber didn’t respond immediately, Vi didn’t really get bothered by it. She could be busy, after all, with homework or work or something involving art, and there was no need in worrying over someone just because they didn’t respond right after she sent something.

Although, as time passed Vi felt herself worrying a little. Could she have gotten a digit in Amber’s number wrong? Maybe Amber didn’t want to talk to her and found her weird? She didn’t want to think about any other reasons, so she tried to block them out, sadly to no avail.

Luckily, her thoughts were suddenly pushed away when her phone vibrated with Amber’s response, and Vi’s eye lit up with glee, and she hastily began typing out a response.

Well, that was fortunate.


	7. Chapter 7

Amber guessed that Vi had texted her when she was halfway across the parking lot, heading towards Anya’s car. She would have responded sooner, if it weren’t for the person who had suddenly slammed into her from behind, nearly knocking her phone from her hands.

Once turned around, Amber identifies the person who had run into her as Skylar, who looked like she was about to pass out as she stood there, her hands on her knees as she attempted to catch her breath, sweat glistening on her skin.

Amber cocks an eyebrow, and she frowns at the exhausted girl in front of her. “Are...are you alright?”

Skylar looks up at Amber with a dirty look in response, taking another deep breath before speaking. “You...you’re supposed to meet me in the lobby after practice, remember? I was already tired, I didn’t need to run even more because you got impatient and decided to leave.”

Amber groans, a guilty look on her face. She had completely forgotten about Skylar, with the combined mix of stress and Clarke and Anya’s sudden invitation clouding her thoughts. She felt awful about forgetting to wait for her, and sighs, smiling apologetically. 

“Fuck, I’m really sorry, Sky,” she sighs out, gently reaching forward to grab Skylar’s hand, pulling her over so she could sling her arm over Amber’s shoulder as some form of help to the other girl, who was still breathing heavily. “Clarke and Anya invited me out to get coffee, and I’ve been so stressed about the whole art thing that waiting in the lobby for you totally crossed my mind, sorry.”

Skylar shakes her head, a small smile showing up on her face. “I might be able to forgive you,” she begins, “if you buy me something at the cafe.”

Amber scowls. “I work at a GameStop and buy my own art supplies, I’m not loaded in cash. Buy your own shit.”

“I guess I won’t be forgiving you, then.”

“If I get Clarke and Anya to let you come with us, you get a free ride home, will you accept that?”

The concept of not having to walk home for once seems to sway Skylar, as her eyes light up a little, and she nods slowly. “I suppose I could accept that, and I guess I’ll spare your broke ass this once and buy my own drink,” she concedes, smirking at the annoyed glare Amber gave her in response. 

Sighing, Amber looks back at Clarke and Anya, who had both stopped to spectate when they noticed that Amber had stopped following them. Clarke seems to understand what Amber was asking for by the expression on her face, and she nods enthusiastically, Anya following with a weak thumbs up as she opens her car door. Clarke then quickly walks around to the passenger seat after yelling out “Shotgun!”, even though she knew both Amber and Skylar wouldn’t have tried for it either way.

Amber and Skylar look at one another, smiling a little, and Amber let the taller girl drag her over to the car, practically shoving her inside with a rough push. Once inside, Amber decides to take out her phone to text her mother about her whereabouts so she wouldn’t worry, and quickly noticed that she had guessed correctly earlier, as Vi had texted her, and she smiled a little, luckily being unnoticed by the three others traveling with her in the car, who all seemed to be locked in a heated battle over the radio.

Well, it was more like Skylar being stubborn about her need to listen to pop music while Clarke argued that the rap station was the better choice, which ended with Anya grumbling something about it being her car while switching it to the classical station, much to the horror of both the other two in the car.

Amber had earbuds, she didn’t care.

As Amber plugged in her headphones and quickly put her playlist on shuffle, she decided to send a quick message to her mother first, as she had planned earlier, before she switched over to Vi, quickly beginning to type out a response.

 **Vi:**  
Hey

 **Vi:**  
Sorry I didn’t message you right after school, ppl were late to practice so we had to rush.

 **Amber:**  
So that’s why when Skylar came to pick me up she looked like she’d been hit by a truck. You guys are pushing yourselves a bit hard, don’t you think?

 **Vi:**  
Our second to last game is coming up, we always practice harder when those come up.

 **Amber:**  
You mean //you// push everyone harder, captain.

 **Vi:**  
Please, I just push the team so that they might be able to play almost as well as I can.

 **Vi:**  
Im very competitive

 **Amber:**  
And very modest

 **Vi:**  
I detect sarcasm

 **Amber:**  
Im glad you’re so perceptive

 **Vi:**  
Whatever

 **Vi:**  
I have a question for you.

 **Amber:**  
And what is your question, captain?

 **Vi:**  
First off, it’s commander in my book, not captain, dork.

 **Vi:**  
Second off, I wanted to ask you if you’d be coming to the upcoming game?  
\--  
Oh, there was a game coming up? On the last week of school before winter break? Amber had no idea, although she felt a little stupid, realising that Vi had literally brought up that they were practising harder only a few minutes ago. Amber thought about it a little before replying.  
\--  
 **Amber:**  
The upcoming game? When is it?

 **Vi:**  
Oh, it’s this Friday, since it’s out last Friday b4 winter break.  
\--  
A frown etches its way onto Amber’s face. Today was Wednesday. She had planned to stay after pretty late on Friday to continue working on her contest entry, as she had work tomorrow after school.  
\--  
 **Amber:**  
I was planning to stay after and work in the art room...what time is it at?

 **Vi:**  
5:00 P.M.

 **Vi:**  
I just uh...wanted to know if I’d see you there. You don’t have to come, of course.  
\--  
Feeling bad, Amber sighs. Her seventh period ended at 2:45, so she’d have plenty of time to work on her contest entry before the game started. She’d have to think about it, though.  
\--  
 **Amber:**  
I’ll see what I can do, but I don’t want to make promises I can’t keep.

 **Vi:**  
Really? Cool! 

**Vi:**  
You’ll get to see my obliterate the enemy team with ease, you know.

 **Amber:**  
You seem confident in yourself

 **Vi:**  
Of course, Vi does stand for Victory, after all.  
\--  
Unwilling giggles left Amber’s lips at Vi’s last text, causing Skylar to cease whining about the music choice to give Amber a confused look, raising an eyebrow in confusion. Amber felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment, and she shakes her head at Skylar when she continues staring at her, causing the other girl to roll her eyes before turning her attention back onto the radio.  
\--  
 **Amber:**  
Not with the way you pronounce it, it isn’t.

 **Vi:**  
Shut up.

 **Vi:**  
Fuck, sorry, my brother is picking Rhino and I up, i’m gonna have to go for a bit, but i’ll text you when I get home.  
\--  
Amber frowns a little, sad that Vi had to stop talking with her, however, Vi’s assurance that she’d message her when she got home cheered Amber up a little.  
\--  
 **Vi:**  
So i’ll see you later, nerd

 **Amber:**  
See you soon, commander.

Smiling a little at her last message, feeling as though she ended their conversation well, Amber looks up from her phone screen, noticing that they had arrived at the cafe. Unbuckling her seatbelt and opening the door, Amber heads toward the door, nearly getting shoved over as both Clarke and Skylar push past her in a desperate attempt to beat each other to the door. Anya grabs the back of Amber’s shirt collar to steady her, sighing heavily as she watches the other two girls make it to the door at the same time, which immediately led to squabbling over who made it first.

“I swear,” Anya begins, shocking Amber, who rarely ever heard the girl speak, “those two are going to be the death of me. “Never have I had to deal with a fifteen-minute argument about whether rap music should be more experimental or not, and I never want to ever again.”

“I feel like Clarke doesn’t know what country rap is if she thinks rap should be more experimental,” Amber responds, making Anya cringe. 

“Please don’t tell her about it, knowing her she’d actually like it,” she groans, locking her car as she spoke. “She’s begun to appreciate metal mixed with rap ever since Meredith showed her Hollywood Undead.”

“Meredith doesn’t listen to Hollywood Undead though?”

“Do you really think that Meredith introduced Clarke to Hollywood Undead with the intention of spreading her music interests, and not because she wanted to cause my own suffering?” Anya questions, raising her eyebrows at Amber’s curious expression. “I drive Clarke everywhere, and I let her have control of the music, and ever since Clarke started listening to that crap I’ve begun to regret giving her that privilege.”

“Ouch,” Amber murmurs, giving the taller woman a sympathetic look as she opens the door to the cafe. “And Clarke still can’t drive herself?”

“She can, she just, like you and Skylar, lacks a car,” Anya sighs, looking over the tables in the cafe until she spots Clarke and Skylar by the counter, finally not bickering over something.

“Well, hopefully that’ll change soon?” Amber suggests, smiling awkwardly at the taller girl, who smiled and shook her head slowly.

“Yeah, hopefully.”

\--------------

You know what, Vi was totally fine until Amber sent her last text.

She was completely stoic, despite the few smiles that had graced her features throughout their entire conversation.

But the nickname Amber had already assigned her actually caused Vi’s face to heat up a little, her eyes wide. It was just a nickname, one she had told her team to call her at that.

So why was it that when Amber used it she felt different? Why was she blushing? Why did she kind of like it? 

Once again, Vi was roused from her thoughts by Rhino, who roughly elbows Vi in the ribs, causing her to yell out in pain. 

“Rhino, what the fuck?!”

“Hey, you weren’t listening the first time I called out your name, I had to do something.”

Rubbing her right side reproachfully, Vi sent Rhino a dirty look, scowling. “Next time you could try not to crack my ribs, thanks.”

Rhino shrugs in response, and Vi looks over to her brother, Max, who was sitting in his car, glancing between both girls awkwardly. 

“Are either of you going to actually get in the car?” he asks, raising an eyebrow, “I mean, this parking lot is great, trust me, but I’d much rather be at home before dinner.”

“We’d already be halfway home if Too Gay to Function here wasn’t fantasizing about her nonexistent girlfriend,” Rhino replies, scowling when Vi shoves her aside so she could sit in front. She swung open the back door and sat behind Vi, making sure to push her feet up against the seat in just the right way that would annoy Vi relentlessly the whole ride home.

“Shut up, Rhi,” Vi mutters, rolling her eyes as Max pulled out of the parking space they were in, heading for the streetlight that appeared before they could get on the road.

“Who’s the lucky girl this time?” Max asks, and Vi swings her head around to give Rhino a warning glare, and Rhino grins evilly in response, before glancing over at Max.

“Some nerd Vi caught drawing her behind the bleachers yesterday,” Rhino drawls, smiling lazily at Vi, who was currently looking at Rhino with a look of utter fury. 

“Fuck off,” she growls. “I don’t have a crush on her, we’re just friends.”

Rhino cocks an eyebrow at that. “Says the person who told me she “might be a little interested” when I called her out on it,” she retorts, tilting her head to the side in challenge.

“Interested in _friendship,_ ” Vi argues, lying through her teeth.

“Bullshit,” say both Rhino and Max in unison, causing Vi to gasp and look over at her brother, her jaw slightly agape.

“ _Max,_ ” she hisses, “You’re supposed to be on my side!”

“Vi, I love you, but I have lived with you for my entire life, and I can tell when you’re lying.”

“But you-you're my brother and you just betrayed me like this!”

“Lying is a sin.”

This makes Rhino laugh. “Man, then you can add lying to Vi’s long list of “Reasons why I’m going to Hell”. I’ll have you know that above number two, pride, the number one spot is “because I’m the literal embodiment of lus-”

“Rhino, shut the fuck up.”

Rhino then spent the next five minutes listing off reasons why Vi would be in hell, with Vi then listing off reasons why Rhino would be in hell as an argument. Max spent the entire time ignoring them to the best of his abilities, which proved to be close to impossible.

Once they arrived home, Vi waved goodbye to Rhino, who left to go to her house next door, and dashed inside, greeting her mother quickly before she headed upstairs, falling onto her bed as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and plugged it into the charger nearby.

She texted a quick text to Amber, informing her that she was back, and then waited for her response, a bit giddy. Amber didn't respond immediately again, so Vi turned her phone off and left the ringer on, trying to figure out what to do while she waited. She didn't want to think too much about the game coming up, as it made her a bit nervous, despite how confident she was, so she tried to focus her thoughts on other things, which worked a little.

Eventually deciding to go take a shower, since she had come home from practice drenched in sweat, Vi walked over to her closet, pulling out some sweatpants and a loose t-shirt before she headed to the bathroom, hoping that Amber would reply by the time she got back.


	8. Chapter 8

Amber sat at a booth with the others once they got what they all ordered, taking occasional sips from her latte as she observed her three friends discuss their lives. Sometimes Clarke or Skylar would bring up gossip, which would occasionally bring up laughter among the group, but today the conversation seemed pretty tame, with only short nods coming from Amber in response most of the time, since most of what they were discussing were things foreign to Amber.

Amber’s focus was once again moved, however, once her phone vibrated again, and she smiled involuntarily, assuming that Vi had responded.

This was not the case, however, as instead it was Meredith who was texting Amber, informing her that she had lost the fight she had gotten into, and that she was going to grab some booze before heading over to Amber’s house, and Amber sighed deeply, asking her if she was alright, but not gaining a response, per usual.

This gave Amber about an hour to get home if she wanted to be there for Meredith, and she quickly relayed that to Anya, who gave Amber a worried look as she nodded, which Amber dismissed with a shake of her head.

“Text any of us if she does anything stupid, okay?” Anya asks, sighing. “Not that she already hasn’t…”

Amber sighs again. "Hopefully," she murmurs, trying to keep her head up. She wasn't worried about Meredith being too injured, per se, as she knew the other girl could handle herself. She was just worried about Meredith walking to her house while possibly drunk. She'd done it many times before without consequence, of course, but it never failed to terrify Amber, who spent the entire time she waited for Meredith to arrive at her house in bated breath. The last thing they needed was Meredith being killed by accidentally walking into oncoming traffic, as Amber had lost enough people at this point.

“Do you need a ride home?” Anya asks, frowning. “We can leave now if you want.”

Amber nods. “I need to pick up some bandages on the way home, and I’d prefer to be home before she gets there, so my mom doesn’t have to handle her by herself,” she answers, drinking the last of her coffee out of her cup quickly, realizing how much she was going to need it now. “I’m sorry to push this on you so suddenly.”

Clarke and Skylar had been listening in on their conversation, and the former suddenly responded, cutting Anya’s response off. “It’s no worries, dude,” Clarke replies, shrugging. “She’s our friend too, I’m sure we’d all do the same thing,” she adds, elbowing Skylar roughly when she shrugged half-heartedly, causing her to yelp, but nod briskly, glaring over at Clarke as she did.

Amber smiles slightly, an appreciative look in her eyes. “Thanks, guys, I really appreciate it,” she replies, stepping out of the booth so that Anya could follow her, along with Skylar and Clarke, who both had demolished their orders of coffee earlier, and Amber could already see Clarke beginning to show effects of it, her feet tapping on the floor almost like a nervous impulse. Anya shakes her head, holding her cappuccino in her left hand.

“Next time we’re going for sandwiches,” she sighs out, looking over at Clarke and Skylar with a baleful look in her eyes. “And if you two so much as squeak about the music choice on the way home, I’ll make sure you end up walking the rest of the way.”

Clarke frowns. “But babe-”

“You being my girlfriend gives you no extra privileges right now,” Anya interrupts, although Amber knows her gaze would soften when looking at her girlfriend. “You whine just as much as Skylar does when you don’t get what you want, and I’m not in the mood for it right now.”

Clarke pouts but concedes moments later, and with a soft huff, she heads toward the door, swinging it open for Skylar to catch and hold open for Amber and Anya, as they head back to the car.

Once Amber got in, she checked her phone, scowling when she realizes that Vi had texted her around ten minutes ago, and her phone never vibrated to tell her. Although Vi stated in her texts that she was in the shower, Amber couldn’t help but feel guilty, as she normally does when this happens. Quickly typing out a reply, Amber tries to think of something humorous, to hide how bad she felt.

 **Vi:**  
im back lmao

 **Vi:**  
actually I’m home, but I think I’m gonna take a shower, so i’m here, but ig also not gonna reply if you reply right after I send this, idk.

 **Vi:**  
i'll be back soon

 **Amber:**  
I hope you have fun cleansing yourself of your many, many sins.  
\--  
Smirking, Amber nearly puts her phone away, before it buzzes again with Vi’s response. Amber guesses that Vi took quick showers, which, to be honest, wasn’t very surprising.  
\--  
**Vi:**  
I’m back, and I’ll have you know that no water can cleanse me of my sins. I’m too sinful to be cleansed.

 **Amber:**  
Oh, is that so?

 **Vi:**  
It is.

 **Amber:**  
I’m guessing pride and lust are your biggest sins?

 **Vi:**  
And how would you know that? Been listening to gossip, Zaine?  
\--  
Amber gasps a little when Vi uses her surname, trying to remember if she ever gave it to her. Guessing that either Skylar or one of Vi’s friends had told her, Amber shrugs it off, returning to the chat.  
\--  
**Amber:**  
Oh, it’s not hard to hear of the girls you’ve slept with, Lotis. I know how you work.  
\--  
Vi seems to take a while to respond to that, and for a second Amber thought she might have taken it a bit too far, when she finally responds.  
\--  
**Vi:**  
Ah, so you do keep up with the news. Well, I will inform you that although one night stands are simply marvelous, I can confirm that I’m not a womanizer, like most tend to describe me as. 

**Amber:**  
Oh really?

 **Vi:**  
I’ve been told that I’m a marvellous girlfriend, actually. Almost as good as I am in bed ;).  
\--  
Amber feels her face heat up, and she bites her lip, her eyes wide. She dismisses any thoughts that told her Vi was flirting with her, however, feeling as if the other girl was simply showing off. Before she could respond with something witty, however, Vi seemed to send out another message.  
\--  
**Vi:**  
Uhm, if that made you uncomfortable, I apologize. I was just trying to play along.

 **Amber:**  
No, no, it’s fine. I was enjoying it.

 **Vi:**  
Okay, good. I got scared for a moment.  
But seriously, please don’t believe those rumours. I know I sleep around a lot, but I wouldn’t ever cheat on my partner if I had one. I’m not a player, I promise. I’ve been cheated on before, and I know how bad it hurts.

 **Amber:**  
Vi, I believe you, trust me. I don’t believe rumours unless people have proof, anyways.  
And I’m sorry you were cheated on once, I know how that feels.

 **Vi:**  
Thank you.  
Wait, really? What kind of asshole would cheat on someone like you?

 **Amber:**  
I’d...rather not talk about it.

 **Vi:**  
Oh, sorry. 

**Amber:**  
It’s fine.  
I...I’ll tell you about it someday, though, just not right now.

 **Vi:**  
You don’t have to, unless you want to drop the name of who did it, so I can beat the shit out of them for you.  
\--  
Amber giggles involuntarily at that, a broad smile on her face as she types her response.  
\--  
**Amber:**  
How chivalrous of you.

 **Vi:**  
Ah, but you see, as an extremely badass and sexy knight, I must protect such fair maidens like yourself. Being chivalrous is simply part of that.  
\--  
This causes Amber to laugh even more, which causes Skylar to send her another confused look, one that Amber ignored this time.  
\--  
**Amber:**  
You’re funny.

 **Vi:**  
Am I making you laugh?

 **Amber:**  
Yes, you are.

 **Vi:**  
Well, good. After what happened today, I’m glad to hear that.  
Also, making any girl laugh gives a huge boost to my ego, so that also helps.

 **Amber:**  
You’re such a dork

 **Vi:**  
A super cool, super strong, super attractive dork.  
Shit, my brother just came into my room. I have to eat dinner.  
\--  
Amber frowns, but, as she looked up, notices that they had pulled into the parking lot of a CVS, so she would have had to stop talking to Vi anyways.  
\--  
**Amber:**  
Lmao, what a coincidence. I just pulled into the store with some friends. I would’ve had to stop talking anyways.

 **Vi:**  
Well, that’s convenient.  
I’ll message you after dinner, if I can. You don’t have to respond, of course.  
If you don’t respond before tomorrow, I’ll always be in the gym in the mornings before school starts, if you want to come hang out.  
I have to go though, so I’ll be back later, Amber.

 **Amber:**  
See you later, Vi

Amber then turned her phone off, as the car parked near the front of the building. Amber promised Anya that she wouldn’t be long, and quickly opened the car door and headed out to the store, trying to remember which area in the medical section the band-aids would be in.

\------------------

Amber finally arrives home with around ten minutes of that hour to spare, waving goodbye to Anya, Clarke, and Skylar as she stepped out of the car, heading inside her house. Her mother, always the attentive woman, appeared from the kitchen opening, smiling warmly once her eyes landed on Amber. 

“Hey, sweetie,” Lorelei greets, waving, “how was the cafe?”

Amber smiles slightly. “It was fine, mom. Clarke and Skylar were being their usual selves, and Anya was being…”

“The mother of the group?”

“Exactly.”

This causes the both of them to laugh, and as Lorelei’s laughter slowed, she beckons Amber over, giving her daughter a warm hug. 

“How was school today, sweetheart?”

Amber had moved away at this point, moving across from her mother to sit at the dining table, sighing. “It wasn’t horrible, but my anxiety got the best of me again.”

Lorelei frowns. “What happened?”

“I ran into someone on the way to lunch and fell, and I kept thinking about how people were looking at me and...well..you know.”

A sigh leaves her mother’s lips. “I’m sorry about that sweetie, did Skylar or Meredith help you out, though?”

“No, uhm, the person I ran into did,” Amber responds, smiling awkwardly as she remembers it. “One of the girls on the basketball team, actually.”

“Oh, really?” Lorelei questions, her eyebrows raising a little in surprise. “Well, that was nice of her. Did you catch her name?”

“Her name’s Vi Lotis,” Amber responds, smiling even more. “We’re friends now.”

A broad grin appears on Lorelei’s face at that, and she claps her hands together. “Oh, that’s wonderful, Amb!” she exclaims, almost shocking Amber with her sudden outburst. “I’m glad you’re opening up to more people! It’s always good to have more friends.”

Amber shrugs. “It’s only one person, mom.”

“One person can grow into many, especially since she’s on the basketball team,” Lorelei argues, and she returns to what she had been doing before Amber arrived, stirring a bowl of what Amber assumes is cookie dough. “She and Skylar must know one another, then.”

“Skylar only addresses her as “Captain” or “Lotis” when talking to us about her, and I honestly have no idea if they’re friends or not, they’re probably just teammates and that’s it.”

Lorelei, holding the bowl in her arms as she stirred, turns toward Amber, raising her eyebrows in surprise. “Captain?” she repeats, although Amber barely heard it when she said it. “I’m assuming that Vi is the team captain, then?”

“Mhm, she told me that she prefers being called ‘Commander’, though,” Amber mutters, standing up so she could grab a can of orange soda from the fridge, opening it as she walked back to her chair. She watches as Lorelei chuckles softly, setting the bowl aside to grab a metal sheet. 

“‘Commander’, huh?” she asks, glancing over at her daughter. “How cocky is she?”

“Very,” Amber answers, laughing.

“Well, cockyness can bring either good or bad qualities, as we’ve seen with Meredith,” Lorelei comments, giving her daughter a wry smile. “So we’ll see how it works with your new friend, I suppose.”

Amber laughs, however her mother bringing up Meredith reminds her of what she was going to warn her mother about earlier. 

“Oh, yeah, mom, Meredith is coming over for the night, is that okay?” she asks. “Well, actually, she could be here any minute now, so I guess you don’t really have a choice.”

Lorelei sighs, rolling her eyes. “Did she get into another fight?” she questions, frowning when Amber nods in reply. “Well,” she sighed, setting a full metal sheet of cookie dough into the oven, “I hope you bought bandages, since we ran out last time,” she adds, smiling gratefully when Amber nods again, holding up the plastic bag that contained the box of bandages within it.

“Good. And Amber, don’t think you’re going to sneak up any alcohol Meredith brings to your room. I may be lenient with you drinking, but you’re at least going to share it with me,” she orders, giving Amber a knowing smirk, which Amber stuck her tongue out at. “I’ll make sure your stepfather doesn’t touch it, don’t worry.”

This makes Amber scowl. “Ugh, when is he coming home this time?”

“Seven sharp, apparently.” Lorelei answers, shrugging. “Maybe we’ll all be lucky and he’ll decide to stop at a bar to drink and play poker before coming home,” she adds, winking over at Amber, who could only wish that would happen.

“If you don’t like him so much, why don’t you just divorce him,” Amber grumbles. “It’d make our lives easier.”

“You’ll thank me for not divorcing him when I can afford to purchase you things to put in your dorm, Amb,” Lorelei retorts, giving her daughter a sad, but knowing look. “I don’t like him much either, but he brings in money that can keep us all stable.”

“Didn’t you say you might not be able to afford college for me a while ago, though?”

“I did, but a scholarship will definitely help me pay for some of your things, at the very least.”

“I guess.”

“Amber, once I know you’ll be sturdy in life financially, he’s out, I promise, but for now, I want to try to give you the best of what I can afford, you need to understand.”

“I understand, yeah, but that doesn’t mean I like it,” Amber scowls, crossing her arms across her chest. “He’s a jerk.”

Lorelei opens her mouth to respond to Amber, likely either with an agreement or with a reprimand, however she was cut off when the front door swung open with a bang, startling both her and Amber. 

“Heyyyyy guys,” came a slurred voice from the hallways. “Guess who’s home?”

Lorelei mutters curses under her breath, turning to give Amber a pointed look as she tilted her head toward the hallway. “Go help her out before she breaks something,” she instructs, turning back around to focus back on the kitchen. Amber sighs heavily, sliding off the stool she was sitting on, walking through the kitchen and into the hallway only to find Meredith in her drunken glory, leaning haphazardly on the stair railing with a lopsided smirk on her face.

“Hey~” she begins, winking.

Amber gives her an unamused look, rolling her eyes. “Hello.”

“We should,” Meredith hiccups. “Go to your room,” she slurs, wiggling her eyebrows. “You know, to patch me up.”

 

Amber rolls her eyes again, grabbing onto Meredith’s hand as she begins to tug her upstairs. “Sure, I’ll start by patching your mouth.”

“Ohoho-”

“WITH STITCHES.”

Once Amber had managed to drag Meredith into her room, she quickly realised that she had forgotten to bring up the bag of things she had purchased at the CVS and she sighed heavily, leaving Meredith to her own devices to quickly run downstairs and grab the bag, rushing back up as soon as she had grabbed it to find Meredith lounging on her bed lazily, smirking over at Amber.

“Want me to take my shirt off for you, doctor?” Meredith drawls, eyes narrowed as a cheeky smirk covers her face. “Because I have,” she groans dramatically, stretching so her shirt hikes up, “bruising.”

Amber does not look amused. She proceeds to move forward, pulls up Meredith’s shirt up, finds zero bruising, and lets it go. She grabs onto Meredith´s right hand and pulls her up into a sitting position, pulling out a few bandages and rubbing alcohol from the kit before she gently grabs Meredith's face with both hands, pulling her close as she sits on the bed in front of her, gently dabbing a cotton ball with some rubbing alcohol on it on the cuts on the girl’s face.

“ _Fuck,_ that stings,” Meredith grumbles, sighing heavily as she allows Amber to fix her up. “You could have just kissed it better and given me a lollipop or somethin’, you know.”

Amber sends Meredith a pointed look. “Maybe instead you should stop getting yourself so beat up sometimes, Mer,” she chastises, putting a bandage over a cut on the her friend’s cheekbone. “I love you, but I can’t keep spending money on band-aids and first aid supplies, you know,” she adds, clasping her hands with Meredith’s as she pulls up her knuckles to examine them, sighing at the bloody welts on them.

Meredith watches her, sighing softly. “Yeah, yeah, I know, just...patch me up and maybe tomorrow I’ll take you out for coffee or ice cream to repay you, if ya want.”

Amber wraps gauze around Meredith’s knuckles. “I don’t _want_ you to repay me by purchasing me food or drinks or whatever, what I want is for you to watch yourself, you could get expelled or...worse,” she insists worriedly, staring right into Meredith’s steely blue eyes as she finishes the bandaging on her hands. “Please.”

Meredith shrugs, gripping her hands around Amber’s own. “Can’t promise you nothin’, shorty,” she responds, smiling weakly at the scowl that appears on Amber’s face. “I gotta defend mine or my princesses honour sometimes you know?”

Amber narrows her eyes. “And who exactly are your “princesses?”” she questions, raising a brow.

Meredith grins. “You and Skylar, but don’t tell her I said that, she’d punch me so hard I’d end up biting my tongue off,” she jokes, laughing at her own joke.

Amber rolls her eyes. “And what’s to prevent me from doing the exact thing? I am no princess.”

Meredith chuckles, regarding Amber with a cocky grin. “You wouldn’t hurt your best friend, would you, _princess?_ ” 

Amber blinks for a second before promptly shoving Meredith off the bed, ignoring the taller girl’s cry of surprise as she hits the floor with a soft thud. 

“Fuck! Amber, what the hell?!”

“You gave me a challenge, I accepted it,” Amber responds, taking Meredith’s spot on the bed so she can lay down.

Meredith clambers up and crawls back into the bed beside Amber. There’s a bottle of whiskey in her hand, and Amber realises that the taller girl likely somehow snuck it in and had it on her floor originally.

She takes a nip of whiskey before passing the bottle to Amber, who takes it gratefully, grimacing a little at the burn it leaves in her throat. She pulls a bag of Jolly Ranchers and a packet of Oreos out of the bag she brought up and leans back next to her friend, chatting as they share the whiskey.

The buzz soon gets to Amber’s head and she can feel her vision grow blurry as she lays her head on Meredith’s shoulder, chuckling as her friend retells the story of the fight. Meredith had taken out a blunt from her pocket a while ago, and they were passing it back and forth as they talked, Amber grinning more as her mind began to grow hazy.

As Amber’s thoughts begin to loosen, and her mind wanders, she finds herself thinking about basketball, which leads to thoughts of Vi, and dopey smile appears on her face, thinking about how her biceps flexed when she was playing the game with an odd amount of interest. She isn’t even stirred when Meredith presses her face into the side of her head, trying to muffle her laughter over whatever she had been talking about.

However, when Meredith’s warm breath hits Amber’s ear, the smaller girl shivers involuntarily, eyes flying open as she stays still, hearing Meredith still chuckling lowly next to her. Her thoughts of Vi fade immediately.

“And anyway, the pussy ran off like a bit-“

“How do you ask a girl out?”

Meredith blinks for a moment, stunned. “Uh...what? You..tryna ask me out, nerd? If so, I-“

Amber groans, rolling her eyes. “No...I...not you,” she says, ignoring the overdramatic gasp that leaves Meredith’s mouth, hearing her hand slap her own chest as if wounded. “There’s this girl, and I...I keep fuckin...thinking about her, even when I’m high as a goddamn kite,” she grumbles, sighing. “It’s gotta mean something, right?”

Meredith chuckles, moving away so she can lay on her side, her arm holding up her head as she gazes at Amber. “Well, do you like her?”

Amber shrugs a little. “I mean...I guess..she’s really nice and funny and..really pretty,” she starts. “And I...wouldn’t mind going out with her, I just have no idea how to ask a girl out, you know? I’ve...never dated before.”

Meredith smirks. “Oh, I think I know who this is about~” she purrs, a teasing tone to her words. 

Amber narrows her eyes. “Mer-”

“Look, Amb, your compliments truly do make my day, but-OOMF,” Meredith starts, before she’s swatted at with one of Amber’s pillows. She glowers at Amber before the smaller girl continues her assault, though she’s clearly amused regardless.

“Okay- ow, Amber- ow, please stop - OW,” Meredith says between whacks. “OKAY OKAY, I’M SORRY NOW STO- OW.”

Amber finally moves back, dropping the pillow, her eyes narrowed, a playful spark dancing in them. “Will you take my question seriously, now?”

Meredith sighs dramatically. “Fine, you wanna smash- no, sorry, you wanna get rawed by Vi so hard the bed breaks, ri- OW.”

Amber now has the pillow armed and ready to whack Meredith with. “Meredith.”

“Okay, okay! Jesus, you’re no fun when you’re drunk, high, and serious at the same time,” Meredith grumbles, rolling her eyes. “Look, sweetheart, you’re just gonna have to ask her out yourself, take her to the mall or some shit like that, hell, try to sneak into a bar or club, whatever floats your boat,” she says, shrugging. “Vi doesn’t seem the type to be demanding date-wise, so it shouldn’t be that easy, hell, I’ll lend you two joints and y’all can just get high together if ya want.”

Amber rolls her eyes. “I don’t think offering Vi drugs is...the best idea for a first date, Mer,” she says pointedly. “I..she did invite me to the upcoming game, maybe I’ll go and...we’ll see what happens?”

Meredith’s eyes spark with interest. “Oh, hell yeah! Seeing you support her might make her happy, too, hell, I’ll go with ya, lord knows it’d be nice to see some girls show their muscles off for a change, I can’t do all the work for them,” she says, flexing her free arm. Amber, once again, rolls her eyes at the meager display.

“Maybe you can hang out with her over the break, too?” Meredith suddenly suggests, shrugging. “I mean, come on, you could both go out and see the Christmas lights together and all that gay shit,” she adds. “Or go Christmas shopping together.”

Amber laughs nervously. “I...I mean, that doesn’t sound awful, but...if I get a project assigned tomorrow I’ll be working on it and the contest entry over the break.”

“Christ, Amb, you have until April 30th, don’t you think you can give yourself a break on that thing?” Meredith groans, giving Amber an annoyed look. “You literally have four and a half months to work on it, spend spring break on it or something like that! I don’t want you cooped up in here all winter break when we could all be doing stuff together.”

Amber sighs heavily, rubbing her temples. “Look, I...I just wanna get it done so it’s done, you know?” she states.

“If you wait until sooner you won’t have to worry about getting the design done and then 4 months later realising you’ve either improved your art or hate the design, just give yourself some space to relax, okay? I promise you you’ll do fine.”

Amber gazes at Meredith nervously, a little stressed, judging by the way her jaw is clenched. “I...suppose you’re right,” she murmurs, exhaling. “Look..I’ll...try to take your advice, at least for winter break, but I can’t promise you I won’t get back to working on it once we get back in school, okay?”

Meredith shrugs. “Fine by me, I just want you to fuckin’ enjoy yourself for once, go out there! Drink! Smoke! Get laid for once in your life!” she exclaims, smirking at the annoyed look that appears on Amber’s face.

“I don’t need to get laid-”

“Oh, true, almost forgot that you’re saving your v-card for Vi- STOP HITTING ME WITH THE PILLOW FOR GOD’S SAKE AMB.”


	9. Chapter 9

Friday came by faster than Amber had expected, and she felt almost as if she had skipped Thursday entirely.

Obviously that wasn’t the case, though Amber had been so hungover along with Meredith yesterday that she had no real recollection of Thursday morning, and she hardly caught onto anything in the afternoon until her art teacher finally did announce that they would indeed have a project over the break, a Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or Winter related art piece, either painted, sculpted, or drawn. This knocked her out of her hungover and fatigued stupor so hard Amber thought she had received whiplash for a few moments. It was due about two days after they came back to school, and Amber immediately began to think of ideas rapidly in her head. 

Her shift at the GameStop she worked at went by fast, and Amber hardly recollected it, being too far in her mind thinking about ideas before it ended. 

Now it was Friday, and the end of class, and, per usual, Amber was in the art room, however now she was working on her winter break project, having pushed the contest entry away until she finished this one. Amber didn’t know what she really wanted to do. She, at first, tried a splat painting on a dark blue canvas using white paint to resemble snow, but it became an absolute mess and got her black shirt covered in white stains, making Amber groan angrily, having forgotten to put on an apron. Amber trashed it because she thought it was too easy, too simple, and went for something else.

Eventually, Amber thought of a couple ideas, a realistic drawing of a reindeer, likely using a reference photo, or a realistic view of a snowy landscape with pine trees. She sketched the landscape out before their was a loud bang on the door, startling Amber so badly she nearly fell off the stool she was sitting on.

“ZAINE, GET YOUR ASS IN GEAR, WE’RE GONNA BE LATE YOU FUCKIN DWEEB!”

Amber groans loudly, recognising Meredith’s voice. She hadn’t checked the time or her phone for a while now, and when she finally does open her phone she gapes at the time. _‘What the fuck?! It was 3 P.M. like ten minutes ago, how is it 4:50 now?!’_

There are a few texts from Vi as well, plus some from Meredith.

 **Vi:**  
Hey Amber

 **Vi:**  
I know you’re probably in art right now and are busy but I hope you can make it!

 **Vi:**  
They’re calling us in to get ready now but if you come make sure to look out for me ;)  
Oh uh, and your friend to, of course. Buuut mostly me ;).

Amber chuckles softly at her friend’s messages and quickly looks at Meredith’s.

 **Mer:**  
Hey

 **Mer:**  
Hey nerd, pick up your phone

 **Mer:**  
...amb don't tell me you put it up and aren’t using it rn

 **Mer:**  
God damn it you have fifteen minutes before this game starts hold on lemme come find you you goddamn dork.

She’s jarred from her reading when Meredith’s footsteps suddenly echo in the empty room, and Amber gasps as a cold hand grasps her wrist and tugs on it. Meredith tugs her out into the hallway, thankfully Amber had her backpack with her so she didn’t end up leaving her stuff in the art room.

Meredith gazes over at Amber once they’re out in the hallway. “You really need to start turning your ringer on when not around your phone, Amb,” she states. “We won’t get good seats now unless we’re lucky.”

Amber looks down at her paint-splattered shirt. “Maybe..I shouldn’t go? I mean, Jesus, look at this,” she sighs, gesturing at her shirt. Meredith seems to study it for a moment.

“The booths they have selling stuff outside the gym might have a jersey or shirt you can buy if you’re really that worried,” she suggests, shrugging. “You have cash on you?”

Amber nods. “Yeah, thank God,” she answers, rifling through her bag until she finds her wallet. “Come on, let's go before the game starts.”

The two both rushed to the small booth before the gym doors, and Amber picked out a random jersey available, something oversized that could cover her up that she might even consider wearing again. She gets a large so it’s oversized, and the lady gives her the red and white jersey once she pays. Amber pulls it on over her shirt and then takes off the dirty one underneath it, shoving it in her bag.

Both girls head inside the gym after that, Amber grimacing at the loud blares coming from the band’s brass instruments. Thankfully, the two manage to find good seats, or, well, Meredith threatened to beat up the old occupants of their new seats, but Amber had no issue with this at this point. They sat down and chatted with one another until the game started, Amber fidgeting nervously as she waited for the announcement that the game was starting.

Eventually, the alarm went off, and both teams entered the gym as everyone cheered for their respective side. Amber’s eyes fixated on Vi as soon as she entered the gym, and once the girl made it to the court she immediately looked up to the crowd, giving off a broad, cocky smirk. Once she spots Amber in the crowd she immediately seems to brighten, and she winks at her, making Amber’s face heat up a little. 

Vi’s gaze moves down a little, however, and, seemingly spotting something, her eye widens, and a bemused look appears on her face before she looks at Amber again, smirking and narrowing her eye as she raises her eyebrows. Amber is visibly confused, and she looks over at Meredith, tapping her shoulder.

“Mer, why is she smirking at me? I didn’t do anything yet, what’s going on?”

Meredith cocks an eyebrow at Amber. “Because it’s Vi? Like, she smirks all the time, Amb,” she responds, whilst buying a thing of popcorn. “Oh, and it’s probably since you’re wearing her number.”

“Wearing her number?” Amber echoes, utterly befuddled by that. “What do you mean? I don’t even ha-“ she looks down at her jersey as Meredith points at it.

On it is a red number six.

Oh.

_Oh._

Amber groans, shoving her face into her hands as it turns bright red. “I didn’t mean to get a jersey with her number on it! That wasn’t my plan, fuck!”

Meredith bursts out laughing beside her, mouthing an “You’re welcome” in Vi’s direction, smirking at the confused look that appears on Vi’s face before she turns around to focus on her team. “Maybe that means that you and her are destined, fate ships it.”

Amber gives Meredith a look, and Meredith smiles innocently at her, causing the former to roll her eyes exasperatedly. 

“Hey! You’re one step further now, don’t roll your eyes at me!” Meredith states, now smirking. “She spotted you and smirked at you out of all the kids here with sixes on their jerseys, you should feel _honoured._ ” 

Amber looks around. There are, like, three other people with six jerseys. One of them is male and looks like he’s been held back for five years. 

Meredith follows her gaze. “Hm, tough opposition, huh?” she remarks, snickering. 

Amber rolls her eyes. “Just...shut up and watch the game,” she grumbles, hearing the alarm go off that signalled the game’s begin.

Amber wasn’t very knowledgeable in sports outside of track, let alone basketball, however she knew how the game worked decently enough to know that Vi’s team was absolutely crushing it. The captain would cheer anytime they scored, smirking over at the crowd, sometimes signaling Amber out and grinning at her.

The sound of squeaking shoes against the shiny gym floor and of the ball hitting the ground anytime it was dribbled had been drown out by the cheering at times, and Amber sometimes had trouble hearing herself think. She and Meredith would cheer openly, especially when Skylar helped score a point, and Amber found herself getting slowly invested in the game, even getting annoyed at times when the visiting team scored a point. 

Vi would streak across the court like lighting at times, moving smoothly and lithely through it until she got her hands on the ball. For a girl missing an eye, Amber finally noticing the eyepatch she must wear for games, she could throw damn well, either by passing or shooting the ball into the net, and Amber found her eyes glued to the captain whenever she was on the court. 

“I never knew she was missing an eye,” Amber remarks as she’s watching, curious. 

“You didn’t?” Meredith asks, mouth full of popcorn as she looks over at Amber. “I guess Skylar never brought it up around you, yeah, she’s been missing it since...I think late junior year? Yeah.”

“Yet they still let her on the team, let alone be captain?”

Meredith chuckles, scooting close to Amber so she can hear her a bit better over the game. “Vi’s determined, Amb, according to Skylar she refused to let the injury stop her and learned how to play like normal without the eye,” she says. “And when the coach tried to explain to her why she couldn’t play anymore she had none of it, I heard she played in front of her and did so well the captain had no choice, but the story changes most the time you ask different people.”

Amber nods thoughtfully. “That’s...pretty inspiring,” she murmurs. She gazes up at Meredith. “How’d she lose the eye?”

Meredith shrugs. “Nobody knows,” she answers. “Skylar says Vi won’t answer the question, nor does she like being asked about it.”

“Ah,” Amber nods, seeming to understand. “I mean, I can get that, some scars aren’t...fun to bring up,” she adds, sighing as she thinks of her own.

Meredith nods, sighing, and opens her mouth to say something else when the alarm goes off again, and the crowd around them goes wild with cheers. 

Amber starts a little in surprise. “What the-”

“THEY WON!” Meredith yells, eyes bright with glee again as she leaps onto the bleacher she was previously sitting on, cheering alongside the others. 

Amber smiles broadly, and when Meredith holds out her hand to pull her up beside her she accepts it, allowing the taller girl to hoist her onto the bleacher beside her so they could cheer. She peers over the shoulder of the boy in front of her curiously and spots the home team surrounding one another, high fiving. Vi is, per usual it seems, smirking broadly and laughing as she loops her arm around one of her teammate’s shoulders, eye sparkling with pride. Amber finds herself grinning to herself, and nearly gets shoved because of it, diving back into her thoughts so badly she doesn’t even notice when people start to move down the bleachers. Meredith has a firm grip on her arm to prevent her from toppling down the bleachers, however.

The team goes into the locker rooms to change and bask in their victory, and Amber and Meredith decide to sit down and wait for Skylar in the gym. 

Meredith looks over at Amber, using a hand to run through her hair as she regards her. “We should totally go out to eat to celebrate the victory, with Skylar,” she suggests, grinning. “I’m sure if we put our money together we could afford...maybe a McDonald's feast.”

Amber rolls her eyes. “I’m sure they have a better celebration in mind, you know,” she states. “I don’t think a fast food fest is something Skylar wants.”

Meredith gives Amber a sly look. “But would Vi?”

Amber narrows her eyes. “Mer, don't do what I think you’re gonna do,” she warns. 

“Come on, Amb, it’s not super romantic anyways! And Skylar and I will be there!” Meredith chuckles. “You need to hang out with her a little bit if you wanna ask her out, you know.”

Amber shuffled her feet nervously, sighing. “Fine..just, don’t be surprised when she declines because she has a better place to go,” she mutters, crossing her arms across her chest as the doors to the locker room open.

There’s a sudden sound of footsteps against the wooden floor as Skylar races over to them, a broad grin on her face, the gold ring in her lip glinting in the lights. “Did you see me playing?!” She gasps as she screeches to a halt in front of her friends. “I helped score the shot that won us the game!” 

Amber smiles. “You did fucking wonderful, Sky,” she states, her smile growing as Skylar beams at her.

Meredith nods. “Y’all did great, all of you,” she states. “That practice really did make perfect, huh?”

Skylar grins. “Course it did, Captain always knows what’ll get us in shape, even if she pushes us to the brink of exhaustion,” she says, puffing out her chest proudly.

“That’s Commander to you, Reeves!” 

Skylar gasps a little, and Amber nearly jumps out of her skin as she feels an arm slink around her shoulders, clasping onto her right and tugging her until she collided with something, or someone. Her head is pressed against their side, and she looks up to see Vi looking down at her, smirking slightly. 

“U-Uh...hey,” she stammers, eyes wide as she regards the taller girl. Vi’s grip doesn’t slacken, and Amber can hear Meredith snickering near them, having moved over to Skylar.

“Hey,” Vi purrs, still gazing at Amber. “I think I have to thank you,” she adds. 

“Thank me?”

Vi grins broadly. “For this,” she murmurs softly, right in Amber’s ear as she gently moves her free hand until she pokes the six on Amber’s jersey. “Of course, I probably would have done just as great without it but….I see this little sentiment as a good luck charm of sorts,” she continues, tracing her finger along the number before moving her hand away. “You should come to our final game, I might need a little good luck charm like you around,” she whispers, and at this point, Amber _knows_ she’s flirting. 

Meredith is covering her mouth to prevent herself from laughing, and Skylar’s eyes are wide as plates as she watches this go down.

Amber feels like her face is on fire, and she can’t let Vi see that, refuses to give her the satisfaction, so she looks at the ground. “I-“

“Vi, leave her alone before you give her a damn stroke,” a voice calls out, and Meredith and Skylar look over to see Rhino trotting over, running a hand through her hair. “Christ,” she mutters exasperatedly.

Vi finally moves her head away from Amber’s and she feels her reluctantly pull her arm away from her shoulders, sighing softly. “Fine, fine, I’ll leave her be for now,” she drawls, crossing her arms across her chest as she pouts. “I was just teasing.”

“Yeah, she was ‘teasing’ all right,” Meredith murmurs to Skylar, loud enough for Amber to hear. Her face grows warmer and she shoots a scathing glare toward her friend, causing Meredith to grin back at her innocently.

“Anyways,” Rhino mutters, glancing over at Meredith as if trying to catch what she was saying. “Vi, you coming home with us or not? I’m starving.”

Vi seems to move a bit farther from Amber and seems to be about to nod to Rhino before Amber, gaining a sudden burst of confidence, whirls around. “Uh...Vi?”

Vi looks over at Amber, tilting her head. “Yeah?”

“Er...Meredith was gonna take us, Skylar and I, I mean, out to eat, if...you wanna come?”

Meredith looks a little surprised that Amber actually invited Vi herself, but she quickly moves to her side, grinning as if not affected. “Yeah, it won’t be anything fancy, none of us are rich, well, other than you, Vi,” she states, giving Vi a teasing look.

Vi rolls her eyes. “I’m not even upper class, I’m upper middle.”

“Your house is bigger than both Amber’s and Skylar’s put together,” Meredith retorts, rolling her eyes. “ _My_ parents are upper middle, sweetie, you’re rich,” she adds. “And don’t even ask me why I don’t pay for it myself, because I would, but they don’t give me shit anymore because they hate me.”

Vi rolls her eyes. “Fine,” she grumbles. “Anyways, where are we going?”

Rhino glances at Vi. “We?”

Vi smirks. “You don’t wanna come, Rhi? Come on, it’s food-”

Meredith narrows her eyes. “I said I wasn’t paying for-”

Vi holds up a hand. “Rhi, if you come with us, I’ll pay for you.”

“Isn’t Max waiting outside? I feel like we shouldn’t just ditch him, you know.”

Vi smirks. “Max will be fine, if you wanna go, then go, but I’m going with them,” she states, moving to Amber’s side. “I wanna go have fun.”

Rhino rolls her eyes before slumping her shoulders in defeat. “Fine, I’ll come,” she groans. “But _you_ are gonna be the one to explain to Max why we’re not coming home with him, not me!”

Vi shrugs. “Fine by me,” she says nonchalantly, not seeming to really care. “Er, Meredith, right?” she asks, turning to the bluenette. “Is there enough room in your car for all of us?”

Meredith nods. “There is, but I hope you don’t mind my truck, it’s a little old,” she says.

Amber groans. “That thing gives me anxiety, I swear it might break down any minute, or burst into flames and explode.”

Vi and Rhino look at one another, raising their eyebrows. “That’s….concerning.”

Meredith looks utterly affronted, raising her eyebrows as she turns to look at Amber. “It’s perfectly safe! It’s only broken down and needed to be started with a battery like...once...or twice last month!”

Amber rolls her eyes at her. “Vi, I promise you that you and Rhino probably...won’t burst into flames? It’s like...a 10 percent chance.”

Vi chuckles, smirking. “Whatever, at least I’ll die as I lived,” she says smoothly. Rhino groans beside her.

“Let’s just go before I kick your ass,” she grunts, following Meredith once the bluenette leads them to the parking lot. Skylar follows close behind, and Vi and Amber leave last, smiling slightly at one another. 

Meredith is chatting with Rhino idly as she leads them into the parking lot, and Vi moves away to let Max, who Amber spots in a car in the parking lot, know what was going on. The boy in the car rolls his eyes but says nothing much else, pulling out of the parking spot almost as soon as Vi moves away from the window and drives out of the parking lot. Vi catches Amber watching and shrugs at her with a playful smirk, though it turns into a smile when Amber starts to giggle.

Meredith leads the group to her old Ford and Vi raises her eyebrows at it beside Amber as they stop, whistling. 

“You sure she didn’t pick that thing up at a junkyard, Amber?”

Amber grins. “Oh, no, she did pick it up at a junkyard. She fixed it up herself, she’d have a normal car, but her parents don’t wanna give a “delinquent” a car.”

Rhino overhears and gives Meredith a wide-eyed look. “You found this car in a _junkyard?!_ ”

Meredith shrugs. “Yeah, why? It ran fine when I tinkered with the engine and gave it some gas and charge.”

Vi chuckles. “Your friend seems...interesting?”

Amber shrugs. “She’s resourceful, that’s for damn sure.”

As they chatted, Rhino and Meredith were still arguing over the safety of the truck they were about to get into. 

“How long have you had this truck?”

“Hmm...about..lets see...I’m nineteen, so about...damn, five years now?”

Rhino blinks at her. “What _are_ you?!”

“Real good with a wrench and a few rolls of duct tape, that’s what.”

Rhino now seems even less enthused about getting in the truck. 

Meredith laughs and heads over to the driver’s side of the truck, swinging the door before entering the truck, shutting the door with a slam. “Whoever calls it first gets shotgun!”

Amber opens her mouth but is oddly enough intercepted by Rhino, who hops inside gingerly, but she still does it.

“Oh?” Meredith says, grinning over at the other girl. “I thought you were gonna chicken out, let alone sit in front,” she teases. “Sure you wanna ride with the crazy girl who drives a junkyard truck, now?”

Rhino rolls her eyes and glares over at Meredith. “Shut up before I decide to walk home.”

Amber and Vi glance at one another and smirk inwardly before heading to the back with Skylar. Amber, being the smallest, sits in the middle, while Vi sits to her right and Skylar to her left. Meredith starts the car and whirls it around in the parking lot with a whirr, causing everyone’s upper bodies to move to the right a little as she swerves, hitting the gas and zooming out of the lot with a cloud of dark grey exhaust in the midst. 

Rhino’s hand clutched onto the grab handle like a vice, her other one digging it’s nails into the center console. “Are you trying to get us all killed?!”

“Far from it, sweetheart,” Meredith responds, grinning as she heads onto the road, slowing down to match the speed limit. “See? We’re fine, I just gotta make my exits big, you know? Plus, a girl who can swerve like that gets _all_ the ladies she wants.”

Rhino rolls her eyes and puts her face in her hands. “She’s gonna kill us all, I can’t believe I agreed to this.”

Amber, meanwhile, was now leaning onto Vi, Skylar leaning on her from the turn. Skylar gets off her first, apologising, and Amber slowly moves off of Vi, her face light red as she regains her bearings. “Sorry I- Meredith’s a little…”

“Reckless,” Skylar finishes, chuckling. “She does that every damn time and we still haven’t gotten used to it. She’s gonna give us whiplash someday.”

Vi nods slowly. “I...can tell,” she affirms, before bursting into laughter. 

The radio in Meredith’s truck, big shock, doesn’t work, so they mostly all talk to one another for the entire ride. To avoid Amber falling into Vi’s lap again, the taller girl almost eagerly puts her arm back over Amber’s shoulders to secure her as they chat. Amber has no issue with this.

Meredith pulls into a diner eventually, and they all head in chatting happily, even Rhino doesn’t seem as annoyed as she was earlier, as she was talking with Meredith amicably in front of Amber, Vi, and Skylar, who were all having their own conversations.

Amber sat next to Vi at the booth they were put at, with Skylar sitting at the head of the table using a chair from another table, and Meredith and Rhino sitting across from them. They order their food and chat whilst waiting for it, about school, their plans for winter break, and plans for the future, or just stories in general.

“And so, I’m hoping Vi keeps her promise to come ice skating with Max and I, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she chickens out beforehand, she always falls on her ass when we go and gets all pouty-”

“I do _not,_ Rhino!”

“Don’t worry, Vi,” Meredith interjects, smirking. “You can’t be any worse than Amber, who fell on her ass once and literally couldn’t get back up for about ten minutes.”

_“Meredith!”_

Once their food arrives the chatter doesn’t cease, and Amber begins to notice a small, but noticeable friendship beginning to bloom from the two newcomers. They don’t seem bothered being around Amber and her friends, and it makes Amber smile a bit as she gazes at Vi from the corner of her eye, watching as she chats with Meredith as she eats her burger. 

It seems to end almost too soon as they’re all walking out, milkshakes in foam cups as they head back to the truck. They get back in their seats, and Meredith quickly receives directions to Vi’s place, where Rhino confirmed that she’d get out at as well.

Meredith whistles as they turn into Vi’s neighbourhood. “Damn, these are some sexy looking houses, you know,” she states, grinning.

Skyler rolls her eyes. “Please don’t ever call a house ‘sexy’ again.”

“I can’t promise you nothin’, Sky,” Meredith responds, laughing as she notices Rhino roll her eyes at her. 

“Can’t believe you’re surprised, Skyler,” she states, grinning wickedly. “Clearly it’s already obvious that she’s insane.”

Meredith gasps dramatically. “Wow, so much for the ever blossoming friendship we had forming, Rhino!” she sighs, shaking her head. “I’m truly wounded, I don’t think I’ll ever recover from that jab.”

Rhino rolls her eyes. “Shut up, you oversized blueberry,” she grumbles, making Amber and Meredith both burst out laughing.

They eventually pull up to Vi’s house, the athlete having given them directions, and Rhino nods to Meredith once before hopping out of the truck. “Thanks for not killing us in your serial killer truck, Meredith,” she calls teasingly, before shutting the door.

Vi begrudgingly opens her own door, gazing back at Amber. “I’ll text you over winter break, maybe we can all meet up and do something like this again?” she questions. 

Amber smiles at Vi, nodding. “I’d love to, maybe we can go skating, fall on our asses together.”

Vi laughs loudly, smiling genuinely. “Sounds great, nerd, I’ll see you then,” she says, before shutting the door and dashing over to Rhino’s side. When the two enter the house Meredith accelerates the car and they head to Skylar’s house, where they drop her off. After that, Amber and Meredith head back to Amber’s place, and the two head upstairs once inside, tired and ready for their break to start.


	10. Chapter 10

December 20th rolls around faster than Amber expects, not that she would know, since she’s been holed up in her room for the past five days.

Amber had chosen the deer to be her project drawing and decided that it’d be a painting, but that meant spending hours holed up in her room, and she had messed up two canvases already with either bad colouring or from a mistake in the anatomy or brush stroke. She only left her room to eat, work, go to the bathroom, and shower, and hardly answered phone calls or answered texts. 

All she had left were a few touches, and Amber wholeheartedly desired this project to just be done by now, not even wanting to know how many cans of double-shot espressos and red bull she had downed to keep her up for the past five days. She didn’t even know how she managed to keep the painting looking as nice as it did.

After a few minutes, with a heavy sigh, Amber finally moves away from the easel, studying the painting with her exhausted, but inquisitive eyes. It looked fine enough to her, not worthy enough for the contest entry, maybe, but otherwise, it seemed decent. She was done, she could finally sleep now.

As soon as the thought of sleep entered her mind, Amber’s body seemed to act on it’s own, leading her to her bed and making her collapse onto it. She doesn’t even bother with the covers and passes out immediately, vision darkening out like a light getting turned off. She finally slips into a fitful, and much needed sleep.

Until her door bangs open five minutes later.

“YO, ZAINE, WAKE THE FUCK- Oh, wow, this is a really nice painting, good job- ANYWAYS, WAKE THE FUCK UP.”

Amber shoots up from where she was laying, eyes fluttering open and blinking rapidly as she focuses on the shape in front of her, eventually recognising Meredith standing at the foot of her bed. The bluenette was panting heavily, wearing a large purple puffy jacket with brown fur lining the hood. Her cheeks were rosy coloured from the cold weather, as it had started snowing last night despite it being rather uncommon for it to snow in Seattle. 

Amber sighs. “Mer, I just got to sleep, what the fuck do you need?”

“Did you forget?” Meredith questions, cocking an eyebrow. “We’re supposed to go Christmas shopping today, nerd,” she reminds her. 

“We are? When did we decide that?”

Meredith gives Amber a slightly concerned look. “Like...Monday, Amb, did you stay up all night working on that painting right there or something?”

Amber blinks, shrugging. “I dunno when I got sleep since uh...Friday?” she says, rubbing her eyes. “I’ve been...working on that painting and working,” she explains.

Meredith gazes at the pile of cans of energy drink and coffee near the easel and then walks closer to Amber, gently placing both hands on the sides of her face so she can make her look into Meredith’s eyes. Amber shivers at the coldness of the bluenette’s hands.

“Jesus, your eyes are so baggy it looks like your eyelids are being weighed down by them,” she murmurs, sighing in pity as she lets Amber’s face go. “I’d say you need to sleep...but I already invited Vi and Rhi to come with us, and I doubt you wanna miss that, right?”

Amber is already standing up. “Nah, I’ll...manage today, but I need to sleep as soon as I get home, even I’ll admit,” she states, already moving to her closet to grab a jacket, pulling a white hoodie off a plastic hanger and putting it on as she regards Meredith. “Where are we going again?”

Meredith is checking her phone as she responds. “The mall, we’re picking Vi and Rhino up on the way,” she answers, looking up from her phone. She smiles slightly at Amber. “But I doubt they’d mind making a pit-stop at a Starbucks on the way,” she adds, smirking as Amber rolls her eyes.

“Is Sky coming?”

“Sky is in Colorado visiting family until the day before New Years, remember, Amb?”

“Fuck, sorry, remember, I’m still kinda fucked over from not getting much sleep,” Amber groans, rubbing her eyes again. “I hope she’s having fun.”

“She is,” Meredith confirms. “She’s apparently skiing today,” she adds, shrugging. “Hope she doesn’t get crushed by an avalanche.”

“How positive of you,” Amber rolls her eyes, pushing past her friend as she heads downstairs, hearing Meredith’s footsteps behind her. “Mom, I’m headin’ out Christmas shopping!” she calls, already walking out the door, barely catching her mother’s acknowledgement of what she said.

She and Meredith head over to Vi’s, and as they pull up the two appear from the house, briskly walking over and getting in the truck, this time both of them in the back since Amber already had shotgun.

“Fuck, it’s cold,” Rhino grumbles, rubbing her hands down her arms quickly. “Please tell me this thing has a working heater.”

Meredith chuckles. “I couldn’t survive in this thing without one,” she says, turning a dial. “I had one put in, despite it costing me a shit ton,” she adds. “Had to “borrow” some money from my parents,” she finishes with a wink.

Vi smiles at Amber and waves when she sees her, though it stops halfway when she notices how tired she looks. “You alright, Amb?”

Amber smiles slightly. “Just...a little tired,” she admits, shrugging. “I was finishing my project for art I had to do over winter break.”

Vi’s eye seems to spark in interest at the mention of it. “Did you finish?”

“Yeah, I just had to sacrifice four to five days of sleep to get it done as fast as I did,” Amber responds, chuckling as Meredith drives the car toward the nearest Starbucks. “Worth it.”

Meredith rolls her eyes. “Sure, nearly passing out on the way here three times totally makes it worth it.”

“Is it good?” Vi questions. “What did you do for it?”

“Realism,” Amber answers. “I painted a reindeer.”

“And yeah, it’s good,” Meredith answers before Amber can undoubtedly act like her work is horrible, when it isn’t. “Like, hella good, and Amber ran solely on red bull, coffee, and spite painting the damn thing too.”

Vi smirks. “Damn, well, could you maybe text me a picture of it later, Amb? Unless we stop at your place today, I’d love to see it,” she says smoothly, clearly having intended the double entendre.

Amber turns around to face the front window, face growing red. “Uh...well, either way, yeah, you can see it,” she murmurs, smiling bashfully. “I have no problem with it.”

Once getting through the Starbucks, Meredith drives off to the mall nearby, and the four hop out of the truck and head into the building. They split off into two teams. Amber and Vi, and Rhino and Meredith head off into different directions of the mall. They’d switch teams when they met around an hour and a half later.

Vi beelined for a clothing store, and Amber followed her in, not really paying attention to the things she was buying for her brother and for Rhino. She was gonna go to Spencer’s for Meredith and likely would stop by the Dick’s Sporting Goods for Skylar.

“Vi?” she called, walking over to the taller girl as they stood inside a Forever 21. “Do...uh..should I get Rhino something? I wanna be nice..”

Vi tips her head to the side, smiling slightly. “You don’t have to,” she responds, shrugging. “She wouldn’t expect that from you.”

Amber shrugs. “She’s a friend in my book, I wanna get her at least..something,” she states. “I just don’t know what.”

Vi gazes at Amber, smirking. “How about I get her two things, and say one is from you?”

Amber’s eyes widen. “But- I don’t want you spending all your money, you don’t-”

Vi puts a finger to Amber’s lips, smirking more. “Shh, let me do something nice for you, okay? I was gonna get Rhi two things anyway, I’ll just wrap them separately and give you the credit, it’s no big deal.”

Amber smiles gratefully, gazing up at Vi warmly. “Thank you,” she murmurs. “That’s...honestly too kind of you,” she adds, gazing down at the ground as her face heats up slightly. 

Vi grins. “Don’t mention it, I’d do anything for a friend,” she responds, patting Amber on the head. Amber beams at her.

They eventually leave the store with Rhino’s gifts and head to the Spencer’s as Amber requested, and Vi immediately leaves Amber’s side to head into the back of the store, grinning. Amber rolls her eyes at her as she leaves, and instead heads over to the mugs. She analyzes them thoughtfully before pulling out one with a gun for a handle that literally says “Fuck the Police” on it.

Amber grins, and, noticing a mug that says “Game Time, Bitches” on it with a golden brass knuckle-style handle, grabs that as well. She grabs a mug that looks like a prescription bottle for Skylar and buys all three of them, thankful that she now didn’t have to go to the Sporting Goods store.

Amber tracks Vi down in the back of the store and immediately regrets it when noticing the girl looking at the meager selection of lingerie that Spencer’s always had in the back with all its other selection of creative items. She turns around as Amber starts walking over, smirking. 

“I dunno if I should buy this for myself as my own Christmas present or not,” she jokes, holding up a pair of black lingerie with a wink.

Amber’s face heats up immediately and she glances to the side, seeming to pretend that the boxer briefs lining the wall to her right were far more interesting.

Vi continues as she looks away. “Hm, maybe I should get this for you, actually?” she questions aloud, smirking as Amber lets out a squeak of surprise, looking back over at Vi. “I mean, I’m sure you’d look nice in it, not that I would know,” she adds, grinning. “I’m just going off what I’m thinking.”

Amber’s face heats up. “Wait, what?!”

Vi seems to realise what she said and how it could be read as, and even she looks a little flustered, eyes widening as she stops talking for a moment. “Uh..”

Amber looks at the ground in embarrassment. “I..uhm.”

“That er...wasn’t what I meant by..that,” Vi tries to explain, haphazardly shoving the lingerie back on the rack. “I wasn’t actually imagining you in-” she scratches the back of her neck as she bites her lip. “You know what? I still have to get my mom a present, ha, maybe we should..you know, head to the bookstore in here or something? Haha...ha,”

Vi doesn’t even take a second to recover, and pushes past Amber, grabbing her hand as she tugs the smaller girl out of the Spencer’s, and both avoid looking at one another for the next ten minutes.

—

When the half-hour hits, Vi and Amber are waiting at the food court, shopping bags at their feet. Vi got them both food from one of the places in the food court, and Amber was sipping her strawberry lemonade happily, all traces of the awkwardness before gone.

She had gotten her mother a cookbook, Clarke a new sketchbook with some pencils, and some camera film for Anya since she knew the girl did like photography.

Meredith and Rhino come trotting over soon enough, bags in hand as they settle down beside their friends. They go get some food and eat, chatting with Vi and Amber before the groups switch, and Amber goes with Meredith and Vi with Rhino.

Meredith makes a beeline for the Hot Topic as soon as she has Amber with her. “All I need now is gifts for Rhi and Vi,” she states, looking back at Amber. “Don’t tell them I’m getting them gifts though, I’m keeping it a surprise and I don’t wanna look sappy.”

“I can’t believe we’re buying gifts for girls we just met a few days ago,” Amber says in response, laughing as she heads into the Hot Topic with Meredith. 

Meredith shrugs. “I’m just a nice person when I feel like it, they should be grateful.”

Amber rolls her eyes. “Softie.”

“Excuse me? What the fuck did you just call me?” Meredith suddenly gasps, turning on her heels and whirling around to look at Amber, cocking an eyebrow. “I am not a softie, I’m tough and badass, have you seen these scars? I fought in a war-“

“You get into fights with freshmen almost daily.”

“SHUT UP, AMBER.”

Amber looks around the store as Meredith shops around, apparently determined to find both gifts in one store. Amber is looking at shirts idly when she’s suddenly tapped on the shoulder. She turns and looks at Meredith as she holds a choker in front of her. It has a silver rose on the front.

“Do you think Vi would like this?” She questions, taking a look at it herself. “You know, she seems like the type to wear chokers, you’d almost-“

“If you make a joke about Vi being into choking I will throw you into the nearest church,” Amber interrupts, rolling her eyes in amusement as Meredith pouts. “But otherwise sure, I’m sure she might, you’ll find out when you give it to her.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Meredith murmurs thoughtfully. “See, I found the perfect shirt for Rhino, but I can’t find anything funny for Vi yet so I might just settle with this..wanna see the shirt?”

Amber nods. “Sure, what is it?”

Meredith proceeds to pull out a black shirt with white lettering that says “I’m not mad, I just lost the capability to smile” on it.

Amber has to fight hard to prevent herself from laughing. “Mer, she’s gonna kill you.”

“It’ll be worth it,” Meredith responds with a wicked grin. “It’s hilarious, I am getting it for her, and you cannot stop me.”

Amber rolls her eyes. “When you die, my eulogy for you is just going to be, “I told you so” and that’s it.”

Meredith snickers. “Let’s see if I can find one for Vi...do you think she’d like a shirt that says “Pussy Magnet” on it? I’m sure I can find that in Spencer’s.”

“You are not getting Vi a shirt that says _Pussy Magnet_ on it,” Amber states, rolling her eyes. Meredith grins wickedly again before she turns around to head to the counter without a word, and Amber shoves her face into her hands.

Sure enough, after being forcefully dragged to the Spencer’s, and after having to wait for Meredith at the Urban Outfitters across the Spencer’s, Meredith comes prancing over to Amber with a white shirt that says “Pussy Magnet” on it in red cursive letters. Amber proceeds to long substantially for death as she dances around the store, holding it in the air for everyone to see.

“I don’t see why you’re so miffed over this,” Meredith eventually states, as she and Amber are heading back to the front of the mall. “The shirt isn’t wrong, she’s definitely magnetising your-“

“Say what I think you’re going to say and I’ll kick yours.”

“Kinky.”

“MEREDITH.”

Amber checks her phone as it vibrates whilst Meredith talks about how she bought herself the same shirt and how she and Vi would be able to twin outfits, noticing that Vi had messaged her.

 **Vi:**  
Rhi is taking forever finding Mer something I’m sorry if we’re late.

 **Amber:**  
does she need advice or something? I can help

 **Vi:**  
I have submitted your question to Rhi and she just gave me the most enthusiastic nod I have ever seen. Please do enlighten us.

 **Amber:**  
Mer likes punk rock, smoking, skateboarding, anything dirty/vulgar/inappropriate for school that can be put on a mug and/or shirt, and don’t tell her I told you this but she thinks kittens and rabbits are adorable.

 **Vi:**  
Got it, Rhi just went to the Spencer’s to find something. I mentioned that you already got her a mug so she mentioned getting a shot glass or two for her. 

**Amber:**  
Damn, i think Rhi just beat me at the gift giving game then, Mer loves collecting shot glasses.

 **Vi:**  
I’m sure she’ll be very proud of herself. Now, if you excuse me I have to purchase YOUR gift ;)  
Byeee~

 **Amber:**  
Yeah, yeah, don’t blow your wallet out on me, dork. I’ll see you later.

Amber and Meredith chill out at the Marble Slab near the mall exit, getting some ice cream as they waited for the others, chatting idly about random things. Amber still felt tired, but she wasn’t as tired as earlier, despite knowing that she’d end up passing out when she got home, which she honestly wasn’t that averse to right now.

Vi and Rhino appear eventually, smiles on their faces as they spot Amber and Meredith and come over to them. There are more bags in Vi’s hands, the same with Rhino. 

Meredith smiles cheekily at Rhino. “Wanna give me a little sneak peek as to what my gift is?”

Rhino gives Meredith an even look, chuckling. “Who said I got you anything?”

Meredith gasps, putting her palm to her chest. “I got you something! How _rude!_ ” she acts hurt, though it’s obvious she’s kidding. “I might as well go return what I got you, or light it on fire in front of you,” she jokes, though a laugh gives her act away.

Rhino rolls her eyes. “I got you a card to an actual fucking mechanic to fix your deathtrap on wheels,” she states, grinning at the scowl that blooms on Meredith’s face from that. “Maybe you’ll consider saving up for an actual car now?”

“As long as my faithful companion runs, it stays,” Meredith argues, grinning. “I can spend my money on much more important things, like booze and weed.”

Rhino snorts in laughter at this, rolling her eyes. “You’re a mess.”

Meredith holds up a finger. “A _hot_ mess,” she corrects, winking. 

Rhino rightfully cuffs Meredith over the head lightly after that, and the four head back to the truck, all in high spirits.

\----

Meredith makes a pit stop at Amber’s house for a late lunch and to chill for a bit, and, as Vi requested, Amber leads her upstairs to her room, opening the door and allowing her in a little subconsciously.

_‘Why are you so nervous? It’s just a room, Amber, she isn’t going to think any less of you, why are you even concerned about what she thinks about you? You’re your own person, you don’t need to base yourself on other people’s opinions. Still….ugh…’_

Amber allows Vi to look around curiously, watching her quietly from the side as she spots the painting. Vi’s eye widens and she moves closer to it, looking at seemingly every detail.

“Is the paint dry?” Vi asks, looking over at Amber, who was jarred out of her silence. She walks over and lightly brushes her fingers over the canvas, moving them away to analyse them. No residue showed on her fingers.

“No, it’s fine, you can touch it if you want, just be careful,” Amber finally responds, moving back a bit as Vi gently brushes her fingertips across the deer’s face, as if expecting to feel the stag’s fur in reality. Her eye is still wide.

“You know you’re..an amazing artist, right? This is amazing..” Vi breathes, looking back over at Amber, whose face had begun to grow pink from the praise. She scratches the back of her neck, shrugging.

“I guess,” she answers. “I mean, I am certainly no da Vinci,” Amber responds, chuckling lightheartedly. “But I do try.”

Vi smiles back at Amber. “Well, I think you’re great, maybe the greatest in the school,” she states, moving away from the painting to put a hand on Amber’s shoulder, making the shorter girl start slightly.

“You..give me way too much credit,” Amber shrugs her off, smiling slightly. “I mean, come on, I might be...good, but I’m not at my highest level yet, I still have time.”

Vi seems to grin more at this. “Well, I hope I’m around to see that, then,” she responds, with a tone of warmth Amber didn’t quite expect. Her eyes widen slightly as she gazes into Vi’s own eye.

“Er...I hope you are too,” Amber eventually responds, her lips feeling like drying concrete as she speaks. She swallows slowly, butterflies dancing in her stomach.

Vi seems to study her face for a moment, and they stand still like that for a bit, Amber feeling a little awkward, however she didn’t dare move. 

Vi opens her mouth to say something when the door opens again, Meredith walking inside.

“Yo, your mom’s done making sandwiches, she wanted me to come to get y’all- Oh,” she says, eyes widening as she notices Amber and Vi. “Did...I interrupt something?” she questions, smirking as her eyebrows raise expectantly. “I apologise.”

Amber looks down at the ground embarrassedly before moving away from Vi’s hold, smiling a little at the taller girl before she heads for the door. She stops at the door frame. “No, you didn’t, Mer, thanks for letting me know,” she says, nodding as she leaves her room.

\------

As Vi recollects herself and moves to follow Amber out, Meredith suddenly blocks her way, gazing down at Vi with a surprisingly serious look on her face.

“Meredith?” Vi questions. “Is something up?”

Meredith sighs, pressing her thumb and pointer finger to her forehead as she looks down for a moment. “Look, Vi, I like you a lot, I think you’re really cool, I like your friend, and I know Amber likes you, a _lot,_ ” she starts. “But I need you to understand one thing before anything else.”

“And what is that?”

Meredith gazes down at Vi, Vi now realising that she was actually shorter than Meredith by a decent amount, and she’s surprised at how serious that the bluenette looks, normally being so lighthearted.

Meredith stoops down to Vi’s height. “I’ve been friends with Amber since the seventh? eighth grade? Whatever, I’ve been friends with Amber for years now, I’ve seen her been broken before, especially by a certain person. I’m gonna give you the mercy of not talkin’ about _him,_ ” she states, practically hissing the last word like an agitated cat. “But if you _ever_ hurt Amber in a physical or emotional way and I catch wind of it you better hope you can find a way to get a one-way ticket out of Seattle because otherwise, I will make your life a living _hell,_ ” she threatens lowly, eyes staring right into Vi’s own. 

Vi matches Meredith’s gaze, not trying to show how agitated this made her. _‘The fuck is she talking about? We’ve been hanging out for long enough that she should have told me this earlier at least. And who the fuck is this guy?! I’ve heard him be mentioned twice now and every time I want to kick his ass more and more, how badly did he hurt Amb?!’_

Vi eventually sighs. “Meredith, I wouldn’t lay a finger on Amber if it made her uncomfortable, I promise,” she says, keeping calm. “I have absolutely no intention on hurting her at all, I swear.”

And just like that, Meredith immediately backs off and smiles at Vi, as if her serious demeanour never happened. She moves back, sticking her hands in her pockets, grinning broadly. “Gotcha! Glad we made that clear, thanks for listenin’,” she says cheerily, and Vi furrows her eyebrows in confusion. _‘She was so serious a few seconds ago, how did she suddenly get this cheery? Jesus, I don’t think I’ll ever understand this girl..’_

Meredith turns on her heels and heads downstairs without another word, and Vi hesitantly follows her down, wondering what happened to have made Meredith so protective over her new friend.


	11. Chapter 11

Amber slept soundly for the few days after they had gone shopping, becoming used to Meredith sleeping at her house over the break to avoid her parents.

Of course, like every year, Amber doesn’t get the luxury of sleeping in when Christmas Day finally rolls around.

She was sleeping soundly, granted, but was suddenly jarred awake when a certain bluenette leaps onto the bed beside her sleeping form and hovers above Amber, grinning at her so when she woke up she nearly had a heart attack from seeing her face above her own. Originally not recognising Meredith from sleepiness, Amber screams and shoots her knee up as the bluenette is talking.

“WAKE UP SLEEPYHEAD IT’S CHRIST- _FUCK!_ ” she howls, rolling off Amber as the shorter girl’s knee makes contact with her stomach. She nearly topples off the bed, holding her stomach as she rolls around in pain.

“What the hell, Amb?! Christ, I think you broke my fuckin’ stomach!”

“Me? Fuckin’ Christ, Mer, you scared the shit out of me, don’t do that!” Amber retorts, sitting up as she glares at the girl still rolling around the bed, whimpering like a dog. “I asked for alcohol for Christmas, not a goddamn heart attack!”

Meredith finally sits up as well, rubbing her stomach gingerly. “It still hurts though,” she complains, pouting. “Amb, it’s Christmas, give it a kiss to make it feel better please.”

Amber sends a sharp glare toward Meredith and the taller girl starts to burst into giggles, and it’s clear her stomach doesn’t hurt as bad as she was making it out to be. She rolls her eyes and swings her legs up and out of the bed, letting them rest on the cold wooden floor. She shivers a little as they make contact, but stands up either way. She leaves Meredith to cackle loudly on the bed and is halfway to the stairs before she hears footsteps and squeals out in surprise when Meredith comes behind her and lifts her up by her waist and carries her the rest of the way, smirking amusedly as Amber swats her shoulder, holding back laughter herself.

Amber allows Meredith to carry her to the living room, smiling and waving as she spots her mother sitting on the couch with a mug of coffee in hand. Her stepfather is in the recliner and only glances at them once with a roll of his eyes before returning to his newspaper.

“I have brought ye all thy princess!” Meredith announces, dropping Amber onto the couch. Amber giggles as she bounces once before settling on the cushion. “Thou hast finally awoken from her fitful slumber, and she had strucketh me with her knee, fatally wounding me,” she continues dramatically, not caring if she failed the right words or not. “Remember me, for I shall not liveth much longer!”

Amber rolls her eyes. “Serves you right for hovering over me as I slept, weirdo.”

Meredith flashes Amber a smirk before sitting down next to her, draping her arms over the back of the couch as she leans back, crossing a leg over the other. She moves one arm once, tugging Amber’s shirt sleeve until she falls onto her lap with a squeak, her head resting on her leg. Meredith seems proud of this, and Amber doesn’t seem to mind, perfectly fine with using her friend as a pillow.

They open presents soon after that, Meredith tearing into hers with the ferocity of a rabid animal, and grinning as she pulls out the mug Amber got her. She holds it by the gun handle, finger wrapped around the trigger as she pretends to drink from the mug.

Lorelei rolls her eyes. “Really, Amb? ‘Fuck the Police’?”

“It’s a classic quote, mom,” Amber retorts, shrugging. “N.W.A said it themselves.”

Lorelei can’t not snort at that, rolling her eyes in amusement as Meredith pretends to shoot things with her mug.

Amber’s given her gift from Meredith, and she also pulls out a mug, as well as a Paramore t-shirt, which makes Amber grin broadly. It was oversized too, just like Amber liked her shirts.

“Read the mug,” Meredith suggests, gently nudging her shoulder. Amber looks at it. It’s just a plain white mug, what did she mean read the mug? Amber lifts it up as if she’s taking a drink from it to see if there’s something written inside, and across from her Lorelei bursts out laughing, spotting where the message was written.

Amber starts a little and turns the mug around, finding, on the bottom of the mug, “Cunt” written in large bold letters. Amber can’t help but giggle at it herself, fixing Meredith with an amused look.

“Really?”

“Well, what can I say?” Meredith responds, shrugging. “You are what you eat.”

Everyone in the room sans Meredith groans at this, shaking their heads. 

“That was horrible,” Amber teases, still giggling. “Your puns are horrid.”

Meredith fixes Amber with a grin. “You love ‘em.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Yes you doooo, you loooooove my puns, they’re so puuuunnnny,” Meredith drawls, practically singing what she was saying, causing Amber to groan loudly. 

Thankfully, before Meredith can attack Amber with an onslaught of awful puns, the door knocks loudly, and Amber jumps up from her seat. “I’ll get it!” she calls out, trotting over to the door before opening it eagerly. Her eyes widen as she recognises who it is.

Vi and Rhino stand outside the door, gifts in hand as the former smiles warmly down at Amber. “Hey, nerd,” she greets, “Mer invited us down here, and we finished opening stuff with mom and co. so I wanted to come down here, exchange gifts, and maybe chill for a bit?”

Amber nods a little too fast, too eagerly, grinning broadly. “Of course! I’d...love to!” she states excitedly, moving aside so the two could walk in. Rhino moves past her and heads into the living room, waving at Meredith before sitting beside her. Vi follows Amber in, placing the gifts where Rhino had placed hers, by the coffee table.

Vi sits beside Amber on the couch, and almost immediately Lorelei gets up, whisking into the kitchen. “Do you girls want some coffee? Hot chocolate? Eggnog?”

Vi looks back at Lorelei, smiling slightly. “Hot chocolate, please!” 

Rhino nods. “I’ll have some coffee, please,” she says. “One spoonful of sugar and a little creamer, if you have it,” she adds.

Lorelei nods and gets to work, coming back a few minutes later with a mug of coffee and hot chocolate, as well as a Tupperware bin of cookies and two other drinks. She places them down by the girls, along with the mugs. She hands Amber one of the refrigerated frappuccinos she kept in the fridge and hands Meredith the same thing. All four girls thank Lorelei gratefully, and she nods, smiling. 

Vi glances over at Amber. “So, how’s your Christmas been so far?”

Amber smiles up at Vi from where she’s sitting. “Good enough,” she answers. “I got nice things, a mug, a shirt, and some money from my parents,” she states, holding up the envelope with the money in it. 

Vi grins. “Does that mean we can go on more shopping trips? I’m sure you’d love to visit the Spencer’s again,” she teases, seemingly having forgotten how awkward it got last time. Amber giggles.

“If you wanna go shopping with me, give me a time and we can call it a date,” she responds, and Amber doesn’t seem to catch what she said, not even when Vi’s eye visibly widens and her jaw drops a little.

Vi seems to slowly recover from that. “Right, yeah, a date, I’ll text you when I’m free, shorty,” she eventually responds, smirking as Amber beams up at her in response.

Rhino rolls her eyes at them. “Enough with the mushy gay shit, can we open gifts again?” she calls out, interrupting the moment. “I’m bored watching you both be gross.”

Vi rolls her eyes. “It’s called _friendship,_ Rhi, maybe you should look it up?”

“Mhm, sure, ‘friendship’,” Rhino mutters, shaking her head. She grins slightly as Meredith starts to laugh, though.

Once again, as gifts are passed out, everyone opens them eagerly. Vi opens up Amber’s gift to her first, whilst secretly passing the gift she had paid for Amber to give to Rhino to the smaller girl, who handed it to Rhino. Rhino gave Amber a surprised look, but nodded in thanks, opening up the bag to reveal a nice looking shirt, one that Vi had obviously picked out. Rhino grins slightly. “Damn, this is pretty nice, thanks, Amb, I..didn’t expect that from you,” she admits, shrugging. “Especially when we just recently met.”

Amber gives Vi a knowing smirk before nodding to Rhino. “No problem, Rhi. I couldn’t just leave you out this year, you know?”

Rhino nods again, moving the shirt aside as Vi lets out a burst of laughter, having figured out what her gift was.

Amber had given Vi the mug with the golden brass knuckle-looking handle, the one that said “Game Time, Bitches” on it in gold with a pink gradient background. Vi looks over at Amber as she holds the mug in one hand.

“This is fucking amazing, Amb, I love this,” she remarks, grinning wider than Amber had ever seen Vi grin. “I’m gonna drink out of this every game day, I swear, it’s gonna be my lucky mug,” she adds. She looks over at Amber with a sly smirk. “Especially since it’s been given to me by my good luck charm.”

Amber blushes and looks to the side, and Meredith whistles provocatively, making Vi glare at her when Amber wasn’t looking. “No problem, Vi,” she murmurs, grinning widely at the taller girl’s excitedness over the gift.

Meanwhile, Rhino is opening Meredith’s gift to her, and it only takes her seconds to read the shirt’s text before she moves it down into her lap slowly, gazing over at Meredith with a scarily impassive face.

“Owens.”

Meredith smiles at Rhino innocently. “Yes, Rhino?”

“I’m gonna give you ten seconds to run before I kick your ass for this,” Rhino threatens, already beginning to rise out of her seat. Meredith grins.

Turning to the side, Meredith shakes her hand with Vi, gazing at Amber. “Well, Amb, Vi, it was nice knowing you both, same with you, Mrs Zaine,” she says, as if knowing she was about to die. “Mr Matthews, you can go fuck yourself, but I think you already knew that one,” she adds, grinning as he scowls at her. She stands up, kisses Amber on the forehead, and then bolts as Rhino darts after her, laughing maniacally. 

Vi watches them both go, rolling her eye. “Those two...I can’t believe Rhino’s willingly hung out with her so long,” she comments, laughing as there’s a sudden laugh and then a yelp of pain from the hallway.

“You and me both,” Amber giggles. “Meredith’s like a lost puppy, she won’t leave your side once you befriend her, and you just _can’t_ let her go no matter what she does.”

Vi nods, smiling. “Wanna open the gift I got you?”

Amber smiles slightly, nodding. “Of course,” she nods, pulling the bag addressed to her close. She tears into it, gasping as she pulls out a large briefcase.

“What is this..?” Amber questions, working her fingers on the latches so she can open it. Once she does she gasps loudly, eyes widening as she finds multiple rows of art supplies inside. She blinks, not being able to believe it at first.

“Vi, this looks….incredibly expensive,” Amber comments, gazing at Vi with a shocked look on her face. “You- You didn’t blow out all your money on me, right?”

Vi chuckles. “It was expensive, but...I know you like art and I wanted to get you something that could last for a while so...it was worth it,” she states, rubbing the back of her neck with a crooked smile on her face. “You deserve it.”

Amber bites her lip, fighting back tears. “You- You really didn’t have to-”

“I wanted to, Amb,” Vi cuts her off, smiling warmly now. “And I’m not returning it, so you better accept it.”

Amber smirks, tears still forming at the corners of her eyes. “I’m not stupid, you know, I wouldn’t deny something like this,” she chuckles, shrugging. “I just...didn’t expect it.”

Vi smirks. “Well, I’m glad you’re not trying to give it back,” she says. “And start expecting it next time.”

Meredith and Rhino eventually come back into the living room, Meredith rubbing the back of her head gingerly. Rhino looks rather smug, and as Meredith sits down she follows suit, plopping a bag down on the bluenette’s lap. “Here.”

“A gift?” Meredith comments, lifting up the bag and analysing it carefully. “After I gave you that shirt? I don’t know if I trust this, to be frank.”

“Just open the goddamn bag, Owens,” Rhino grunts, rolling her eyes. Meredith sticks her tongue out at Rhino before tearing into the bag eagerly, eyes glinting as she shoves her entire hand inside the small space. She seems to furrow her eyebrows a little in confusion before pulling out the gift, a rainbow shot glass.

“A shot glass! A pride one, too! How’d you know I collect these, Rhi?”

Rhino shrugs. “I asked around, a little birdy told me what you like,” she responds. “I wouldn’t have gotten it for you if I had known you were getting me this, though,” she adds, lifting up the shirt again with an amused smirk.

Meredith smiles oddly genuinely. “Fuck, man, if I had known you were getting me something in general I would probably have gone for something...a little nicer, to be honest.”

Rhino seems a little surprised by this. “Wait, really?”

Meredith’s genuine smile grows crooked in seconds, and she snorts. “Nah, I’m just fucking with you, I hardly ever buy anyone a genuinely nice Christmas present, unless your name starts with A and ends with R.”

Amber rolls her eyes. “Mer, you really shouldn’t prioritise me-”

“Shush, Amber, you deserve the world and if that means I have to take Christmas seriously for you then so be it.”

Amber rolls her eyes once more, giving Vi a look. Vi chuckles in response, though from the look in the taller girl’s eye Amber assumes she agreed with what Meredith said.

Remembering it suddenly, Amber grins wickedly as she spots the one other bag Meredith had brought in the night before, and she looks over at the bluenette with a malevolent glint in her eyes. “Mer, shouldn’t you give Vi your gift now?” she questions, grin widening as Meredith freezes.

To Amber’s utter displeasure, she had forgotten that Meredith had no shame whatsoever, and she watches with a frown as Meredith smirks, running a hand through her hair as she leans forward, hooking the bag from the ground by it’s straps and haphazardly tossing it over to Vi, who catches it easily. “Thanks for reminding me, Amb, I almost forgot,” she states, chuckling. “Vi, I hope you like it because I truly thought of you when purchasing it.”

Vi rips the tissue paper away from the bag and pulls out the “Pussy Magnet” t-shirt, eye widening as she scans the text quickly. Rhino leans her head back to see what it says and immediately slaps a hand over her mouth to prevent herself from bursting into laughter, and Amber hears her mother groan once catching a glimpse at the shirt.

Vi slowly grins toothily, laughing. “Holy fucking shit, Mer, this is _amazing,_ ” she remarks, still staring at the shirt. “I love this, where did you find it?”

“Spencer’s,” Meredith answers, grinning back. “I have my own, you know, we could totally twin now.”

Vi smirks broadly. “That sounds wonderful, Mer, hell, maybe I’ll buy you one, Amb,” she says, elbowing Amber gently. “We can be triplets.”

“And maybe Amber might actually get some pu-”

“Meredith,” Amber warns, flashing the taller girl a sharp glare.

“-ssy.”

Amber thwacks Meredith’s shoulder, rolling her eyes. 

Once the present exchange is finished completely, Vi and Rhino stay over a bit longer, chatting about random things. They call Skylar over FaceTime eventually, wishing her a Merry Christmas before Vi and Rhino eventually have to head back for dinner. Before she leaves, however, Vi stops and turns at the door.

“Hey, Amb? Mer?”

Amber and Meredith look over at Vi at the same time, curious. “What is it?” Amber asks, moving over toward Vi as the taller girl leans against the doorframe. 

“Er, I don’t know if you heard yet but, I’m having a New Years party at my place on, well, New Year’s Eve,” Vi starts. “I was wondering if you’d like to come? Everyone from school is invited, obviously, but I wanted to specifically ask you since..well, you’re my friends,” she explains. 

Meredith immediately agrees, nodding excitedly at the idea of a party, and Amber smiles up at Vi, excitement sparkling in her eyes. “I’d love to, what time is it at?”

“After six in the evening you can arrive anytime you want,” Vi says, grinning. “Or, well, I’d recommend not coming at three in the morning, though.”

Amber sighs. “Damn, as the insomniac that’s when I’m most active,” she jokes, giggling. “Guess I’ll have to settle at past six, shame.”

“I’ll make sure you don’t pass out if Meredith doesn’t do it for me, don’t worry, shorty,” Vi smirks, ruffling Amber’s hair with her hand. “But I’ll see you in five days, then, nerd!”

Amber nods, grinning. “See you then!”


	12. Chapter 12

Five days flash by astonishingly fast, and Amber soon finds herself in front of her open closet, sorting through shirts and pairs of jeans as she tries to find a nice enough outfit for the party, oddly feeling a little insecure over her appearance tonight.

Meredith is sitting behind her on the bed, smoking a cigarette calmly as Amber throws out assortments of clothing articles, moving her head to the left quickly before a shirt could hit her in the face. She sighs, moving the cigarette from her lips, blowing out a puff of acrid smoke. “Amb? Sweetheart, you really don’t need to worry about outfits tonight, it’s just a New Year’s party, not a soiree.”

Amber looks back at Meredith frantically, a t-shirt in hand, ready to launch it behind her. “But- I, you know, a lot of people are-”

“Going to be fucking hammered and high as the fuckin’ Eiffel Tower,” Meredith interrupts, catching the shirt as Amber throws it behind her. “Look, Amb, if someone tries to make fun of you for a fuckin’ outfit you decide to wear for a New Year’s party of all things, you let me know and I’ll beat the shit out of them for you, okay?”

Amber sighs in defeat, nodding slowly. “I..suppose, I just don’t want to wear the wrong thing, Mer, I don’t...usually get invited to parties.”

“Yeah, I know, nor would you usually go if invited to one,” Meredith responds. “Honestly, Amb, I promise you it’ll be fun, you get to drink, get high, and chill with pretty girls all night. Everyone’s gonna be embarrassing themselves too, so if your anxiety tries to act up just kick it in the balls and run from it.”

Amber smiles slightly, giggling. “I’ll try that,” she says, being utterly honest. “But, hm, regardless, do you have any suggestions for a shirt, at least? I probably won’t even fuck with makeup, you know how shitty I am at it.”

Meredith smirks. “I can do eyeliner on you but that’s about it, maybe eyeshadow but it’s been a very long time since I’ve messed with that stuff,” she offers, smiling broadly as Amber nods enthusiastically. “But...as for shirts, why not this?” Meredith questions, lifting up the red jersey Amber had bought a little over two weeks ago. “It’s Vi’s party, after all, she might like it if you wear this, and it’s hella comfortable, I wore it a while back when spending the night, remember?”

Amber nods, chuckling as she reaches over and grabs the jersey, examining it before placing it down on the bed beside a pair of black leggings, ripped jean shorts, and a pair of crimson Doc Martens. Amber quickly pulls off her current shirt, not really minding if Meredith was around or not. They’d been friends since the eighth grade, they’d had changed in front of one another before, after all. She pulls on the jersey quickly as Meredith whistles from the bed.

“Honestly, Amb, I’m surprised nobody has slept with you before, you do know how pretty you are, right?”

Amber’s face turns a deep shade of red as she looks over at Meredith, awkwardly laughing as she rolls her eyes. “I..I’m not that pretty, really, you and Skylar trump my appearance any day,” she states, grinning lopsidedly. 

Meredith smirks. “While I do agree that I am...ravishly sexy and desirable, I mean what I’m saying to you, Amb, you’re gorgeous,” she states, a genuine look on her face. “I might have been crude and a little crass with my first comment, but I’m being honest. You may be insecure about yourself, but if anyone tells you that you aren’t pretty, they’re probably either blind or stupid.”

Amber rolls her eyes, though her blush doesn’t fade. “Well...thank you, Mer, really,” she finally says, smiling at the bluenette. “I mean it, it..actually does make me feel better,” she admits.

Meredith nods back at Amber, grinning widely. “I’m glad it does, now, get dressed so we can go let loose and get shitfaced with some hot girls, I’ve been dying for a night like this all break,” she says, smirking broadly as Amber grins back.

“Let’s have some real fun, for once.”

\------

Amber spots Vi’s house from a mile away in Meredith’s truck, considering they had to park a decent ways away with all the other cars already lined on the street. The lights are on and flashing lights within the house make it stick out like a sore thumb, along with the Christmas decorations out front on display. Once out of the truck Amber swears she can practically feel the bass from the music playing from where they’re parked.

She and Meredith head toward the house, Amber’s boot heels clacking on the concrete sidewalk being the only sound the two can really hear until they get close enough to the house to be able to hear the music playing through the walls. They were fashionably late at seven instead of six, having to spend some time getting the makeup on Amber’s face and to get dressed, and Vi had let Amber know over text to just walk into the house, not to knock.

They eventually reach the door and Meredith opens it, clasping a hand on Amber’s shoulder to help steer the smaller girl into the house, the music now loud, the bass making Amber’s ears vibrate as she enters fully, looking around the large, pretty house. Meredith keeps her hand on Amber’s shoulder as she looks around, trying to spot somewhere to go before Amber feels an arm wrap around her shoulders, pulling her from Meredith’s grasp gently.

Amber lets out a soft gasp as she’s pulled into a backwards embrace as someone who she assumes is Vi hugs her from behind, feeling the person grinning against the back of her head. Amber looks down and notices the pair of arms and recognises them as Vi’s, and she smiles slightly, grinning up at Vi as she slowly leaves the embrace to stand in front of her.

Vi’s wearing the shirt Meredith got her with a leather jacket over it and ripped jeans, and she smiles crookedly at Amber, the smaller girl already being able to tell that Vi, despite it being only an hour since the party started, was most likely a little tipsy at the very least.

“Hey,” Vi says, running a hand through her long hair, making sure not to move the bangs covering her eye. “I’m glad you made it, I mean, I know I did say that you could arrive whenever but to be honest when you weren’t here around six thirty I started feeling a bit worried,” she admits, shrugging.

Amber chuckles. “Well, I apologise,” she says, staring up at the athlete with a smirk on her face. “I’d have come sooner, but I had to get ready.”

Vi proceeds to remove her gaze from Amber’s face and scan her entire appearance, a smirk slowly appearing on her face. “Well, look at that, wearing my number again, Zaine?” she questions, a teasing tone to her words. “If I didn’t know any better I’d assume you were trying to impress me.”

Amber’s face heats up, and she giggles awkwardly. “Well, it _is_ your party,” she responds, rubbing the nape of her neck sheepishly. “Also, Meredith was right, this thing is super comfortable,” she adds, laughing.

Vi smirks. “Well, it looks good on you,” she says, chuckling. She seems to be about to say something else when her name is called out suddenly over the music. Both girls turn to see Rhino by what Amber assumes to be the bar, though so many people are around it she can’t really tell. Vi sighs softly, cursing under her breath.

“I have to go help Rhi get some more drinks out from the cooler in the back,” she groans, looking over at Amber apologetically. “I’ll be back soon, but please, try to have fun without me,” she adds, clearly teasing Amber as she heads off toward the bar. Once gone Meredith sidles back up to her, somehow having gained two bottles of beer.

“How did you…?” Amber questions, taking one of them when Meredith hands it over. “They just had to go get more, who’d you beat up for this?”

Meredith grins. “Rhi gave me the last two, lucky for you I’m friends with the bartender,” she answers, clearly joking. “You mind if I go roam around? I wanna go check out what’s around here,” she asks, smiling a little.

“You mean, you wanna go check out all the girls here and/or figure out where and if anyone is giving out joints to smoke, don’t you?”

Meredith lets any innocent facade fall, smirking as she laughs. “You got me, nerd,” she says, shrugging. “I just wanna go have fun, and you should have fun too, just...go dance, drink, if you find weed come tell me first but definitely get some, and, honestly? If a girl starts flirting with you flirt back, well, no, unless she’s making you uncomfortable, then come find me again.”

Amber laughs. “I think I get it, Mer, thank you,” she states, gently nudging the taller girl with her shoulder. “I’ll manage, don’t worry, go have fun,” she adds, smiling and waving as Meredith nods and heads into the fray of people, turning back to give her a smile and a thumbs-up before disappearing within the crowd.

Amber looks around, sipping on her beer as she does. She doesn’t want to risk spilling the beer all over her jersey, so she decides to go polish it off in the corner before tossing it into a nearby trash bin, finally heading off into the main room to go dance. 

Surprisingly enough, to Amber at least, a few girls, and, regrettably a few boys did flirt with her while she was dancing around, and she wasn’t too uncomfortable unless it was the boys. She was enjoying this, despite her earlier fear of her anxiety sparking up, and she loses track of time as she twirls around, laughing alongside a few other girls she’d seen in the hallways at school.

After was felt like only minutes, Amber leaves the crowd, noticing that it was actually eight o’ clock now. Her eyes widen slightly, time had passed fast while in there, but she smiles, moving back to lean against one of the walls, giving herself some time to breathe.

She doesn’t notice one of the guys in the crowd walk over and grab her by the wrist and pull her into one of the alleyways, nor does she recognise him until she’s shoved roughly into the wall, her eyes widening as two arms bar exit off by placing themselves by the sides of her head.

Amber’s eyes harden into chips of ice in seconds, her lip curling in disgust as she peers back at the blonde-haired boy in front of her, hands curling into fists.

“Bowers,” she hisses with pure vitriol, hate blazing in her eyes.

“Zaine,” the boy growls back, green eyes narrowed as he stares back at her.

Amber analyzes him for a second. Drake Bowers hadn’t seemed to grow since Amber last saw him, thankfully, as he stood at 6’1 and had the muscles and build you’d expect a quarterback in varsity football to have. His platinum blonde hair looks greasy and messy as if he’d put an abundance of product in it but had it messed up during the party. He was wearing a letterman and jeans, and he looked like he was trying to grow facial hair, however he was clearly failing miserably. 

“Didn’t think I’d see your annoying face at this party,” he sneers, giving Amber a speculative look. “You the same Amber who hides in a corner shaking like a pussy when you too many people are staring at you or did you finally grow some balls?”

“More than you’ll ever have,” Amber hisses, though she flinches when Drake growls again, closing her eyes as if bracing for a punch in the face. It doesn’t come, however, and Amber sighs softly in relief. “Vi invited me herself, why wouldn’t I come here?”

Drake gives Amber a bemused look, raising his eyebrows. “ _Lotis_ invited you? As in, the women’s basketball captain? The fuck is she doing hanging out with a weirdo like you? Out of all people-“

“She and I are friends, actually!” Amber corrects, smirking. “You know, actual friends, that don’t screw each other over. Something you aren’t used to, I presume?”

Drake rolls his eyes with a sudden chuckle, giving Amber an odd look as he grins crookedly at her. “Look, Amb, I'm saying this as your ex, since I dated you once and even I can agree that, beyond your ass-ugly personality you’re hot,” he says, and Amber grimaces in disgust. “I’m sure Lotis thinks that too, and you know her reputation, right? She’s a ladykiller, a womaniser, she loves to sleep around and I wouldn’t be surprised if she does the same exact thing to you before dumping your sorry ass right afterwards. But yeah, I’m sure you and the biggest skank in the school are best fr- AUGH.”

Amber hadn’t let him finish, swinging one of her fists upward until it landed square under his jaw, knocking his head backwards. Drake is jarred from the blow, eyes rolling back for a second. Amber tries to slip away after that but feels her arms get grabbed again as Drake pins her to the wall this time, sneering at her. He bit his tongue, she can tell that, especially when he uses one hand to wipe his mouth, pulling away with blood staining the skin of his hand.

“You bitch,” he snarls, words sounding a little slurred from the bite to his tongue. “You know what, how about I do the fucking favour for Vi, huh?” he suddenly adds, eyes glinting malignantly before her mouth is covered by one of the football player’s hand to prevent her from screaming. Amber kicks out furiously, fighting back as much as possible, though there isn’t much she can do thanks to the quarterback’s size. She’s just about to give up hope when there’s a sudden furious yell and a crunching noise as Drake’s hand suddenly moves away, the boy going flying backwards, stumbling with his hands covering his nose.

Amber doesn’t have time to thank whoever saved her before a blur of black hair moves forward, grabbing Drake by the collar of his shirt and slamming him hard into the opposite wall.

Amber gasps in relief. He saviour was none other than Vi herself, who was currently pulling back her arm again, and with the enraged gleam in Vi’s eye, Amber knew that the quarterback was going to be shown absolutely no mercy.

——

Vi had gone off with Rhino to restock some of the alcohol and snacks after saying goodbye to Amber, and upon arriving back she knew she had spotted the artist in the crowd, and she smiles once realising that she was having fun, happy that she was enjoying herself.

She would have gone over to join her, however, Vi had to help Rhino get everything set out for the guests, and by the time she was finished Amber had disappeared, oddly enough. Vi assumed she had gone off somewhere else, perhaps outside or to another part of the house, and she even went looking around for the smaller girl, though when she couldn’t find her anywhere a sense of worry went through her, and it only got worse after she spotted Meredith also looking around, a worried look on the bluenette’s face.

Vi decides to head down the hallways, thinking that Amber’s anxiety had maybe gotten to her and she had moved somewhere quieter, and as she’s entering the first hallways she hears voices, one she recognises. It doesn’t take too long to find Amber and the quarterback of the varsity football team, Drake Bowers, up against the wall. Vi at first is openly confused until she overhears what Drake is saying. Her eyes narrow, and she’s about to move forward to pull the asshole off of her friend before she watches in utter fury as Drake suddenly covers the smaller girl’s mouth with his hand, Amber clearly protesting it. She doesn’t waste a second, rushing forward, curling her fingers into a fist before she pulls her arm back and punches the taller boy right in the nose with all the strength she has, knocking him backwards and breaking his nose along with it. Vi growls, moving forward immediately, shaking her hand out quickly to rid the stinging feeling of irritation on her knuckles before she slams the boy into the other wall with both hands clutching onto the collar of his now bloodstained shirt.

She pulls her arm back again before punching Drake repeatedly in the jaw, not caring if she broke something else. She stops when all that leaves Drake’s bloody mouth are low moans of pain, and she lets him go, watching him slide down the wall and hit the ground with a thud, eyes glassy as he gazes up at Vi, dazed. 

Vi puts the pieces together immediately, remembering what Meredith had said a while back. 

_‘I’ve seen her been broken before, especially by a certain person. I’m gonna give you the mercy of not talkin’ about him’_

_This_ was the boy Amber had mentioned back when they texted each other for the first time. This was the boy Meredith had mentioned vaguely a week or so ago. This was the boy who had hurt Amber so badly she didn’t like to bring it up.

Hatred blazes in Vi’s eye as she kicks the athlete in the ribs, and she hardly hears the footsteps ringing out behind her as a voice rings out in the hallway.

“Amb? Amb! There you are!” Meredith gasps in relief. Vi turns around to find Meredith gasping as Amber suddenly launches herself toward the bluenette, burying her face into her chest. The impact makes Meredith stagger, nearly dropping the bottle of beer she was holding, and one arm loops around Amber’s waist immediately while the other runs through her strawberry blonde hair gently. She gazes over at Vi, having not seen Drake yet. “What the fuck happened?!”

Vi tilts her head toward where Drake was still lying on the floor. “He happened.”

Vi watches in morbid curiosity as Meredith’s expression goes from confused to utter rage within seconds, and Amber lets out a yelp as Meredith suddenly shoves her over to Vi, the athlete catching Amber in her arms and holding her close, copying how Meredith had held her earlier.

“Vi, take Amber somewhere quiet, now,” Meredith orders, and Vi watches her swallow the rest of the beer in her bottle with a single swig before she turns the bottle over and holds it by the handle. “I’ll find you, don’t worry about it, I’m just going to do something I’ve wanted to do for a long time now,” she growls lowly, and Vi doesn’t skip a beat, picking Amber up and carrying her off through the living room and out the back door, ignoring the looks and whistles from unknowing passerby as she did, eye narrowed as she tries to calm herself down.

She sets Amber down on the back porch, which is barren since nobody wanted to hang out here or swim out in the winter weather right not. It’s freezing, and Amber isn’t wearing a jacket, so Vi takes her own off and drapes it around Amber, sitting down next to her.

Amber doesn’t speak for a while, just watches her breath as she exhales, the weather cold enough to have it show up as a cloud as she breathed out. Eventually, she gazes up at Vi, eyes watering.

“I’m sorry, I should’ve warned you that he might be here and cause problems, I forgot he existed for a while,” she says, pulling the jacket more around herself. “God, I’m sorry-“

“Stop apologising about something that isn’t your fault, Amb,” Vi interrupts, chuckling dryly. “You had no idea he was going to be here, if I had known I wouldn’t have-“

Amber suddenly leans against Vi’s arm and Vi freezes, though slowly drapes it around Amber’s shoulders, pulling her close so that the girl was leaning against Vi’s side. 

“I guess you know about Drake now,” Amber breathes, voice wavering. 

Vi huffs. “I knew he was a creep but _God,_ Amb, I had no idea he was your ex,” she says, giving the other girl a pitiful glance. 

Amber sighs heavily. “Drake and I dated from freshman to sophomore year, back when I thought I was straight and because...back then I wanted to be seen, heard, and know among others, and Drake was a football player, one I was acquainted with too, so I thought I’d get a boyfriend I thought I’d love and also get popularity,” she explains. Vi listens attentively, nodding along. “And it was fine at first! It was great, he was so sweet and kind and maybe a little dickish at times but otherwise, he wasn’t that bad, but then sophomore year rolls around and he...he just changed into this creep, you know? He would get really touchy and quickly annoyed when I pushed him away, and then at this party a while ago he...we were both drunk and he wanted sex and of course I wasn’t comfortable with it because I was slowly trying to figure my sexuality out and really didn’t even like it when he would _kiss_ me but he didn’t stop until Meredith found us and threw him off of me.” Amber’s voice begins to waver even more, and at this point, Vi is shaking in absolute fury. “I broke up with him after that, and he gave me this scar for it,” she pulls up her sleeve to show a thin line right below her left shoulder, “and all he’s done since is bully Mer, Sky, or I if he sees us in hallways. He’s..he’s horrible, Vi.”

Vi growls lowly, eye narrowed. “Yeah, you got that right,” she grunts. “I should have helped Meredith beat the shit out of him, he could have ended up- you could’ve ended up- if Meredith hadn’t stopped him he would have-“

Amber nods grimly. “Yeah.”

Vi slowly lifts her hand up to brush up against the bangs covering her eye lightly, her remaining eye wide as she thinks. _‘She would have ended up like-‘_

“Vi?” Amber questions, a worried look on her face as she gazes at Vi, who is frozen in the same position. “Vi? What’s wrong?”

Vi breathes heavily, sighing. “I lost my eye to a _horrible_ person, someone who succeeded in doing the thing Drake nearly did, I’m just...realising that,” Vi sighs heavily, pushing her face into her hands. “I’m glad you didn’t have to go through it, because it’s something I’d never, ever wish to happen to anyone,” she adds, and she jumps when Amber suddenly hugs her. 

“I’m sorry,” Amber murmurs, and Vi nearly chokes up before forcing it back, burying her face into Amber’s hair as she holds her close.

“It’s whatever, I got over it fast, if you couldn’t tell,” she laughs bitterly, sighing softly. 

“I’m sorry, the party is kinda ruined now, huh, with us out here..venting, I suppose,” Amber says, seeming to deflate in Vi’s arms. Vi chuckles.

“I’ve had worse parties,” she responds, grinning at Amber as she looks up at her. “I’m just glad I’m here to help you out right now, to be utterly honest.”

Amber’s face darkens a little, and she grins back weakly, having stopped crying a while ago. Vi moves a hand to wipe away the stray tears, no longer caring if she touched Amber’s cheek despite the heat that slightly rose in her own cheeks when realising how close they were.

Amber allows her to do it, biting her lip a little as she looks to the side, and once she notices the fact that she can feel Vi’s breath in her face her face darkens immediately, eyes widening as she focuses on Vi’s own, which is staring at her intently. They seem frozen for a while after that, and Amber can’t tell if she feels Vi’s thumb gently trace her bottom lip or not, too focused on her eye to really care. She swears she sees Vi look down at her lips and swears she feels her begin to lean in before the door suddenly opens and the two push away immediately, looking toward the door with wide eyes, both of their faces warm as they look away awkwardly.

Meredith stands there with three bottles of beer and a pack of joints in her teeth and thankfully didn’t notice the two, busy fumbling in her pockets in search for a lighter. She takes the pack of joints in her full hands and walks over, putting the bottles down. “Y’all better be grateful, these are from my stash and they’re fuckin’ expensive,” she grunts, giving the two girls each a joint as she pulls out a lighter. “You do smoke, right, Vi?”

“Shockingly, despite my athletic status, yes, I do,” Vi nods, pretending like she totally didn’t just nearly kiss Amber. Her heart was racing, mind confused as she attempted to assess what happened. Did she really have feelings for the smaller girl? She did try to kiss her, Vi knows she leaned in, but _why_? She glances over at Amber as Meredith lights up her joint for her.

Vi couldn’t deny that Amber was pretty, it was impossible to, really, as she did find the girl beautiful and for the past few weeks they’d hung out she knew she loved her personality and being around her, but Vi hadn’t been in a serious relationship for a while now, and though she knew she certainly wouldn’t mind dating the artist she also didn’t know if she was interested in her in that way yet. It was confusing and Vi hated it.

Sighing softly, Vi takes a hit from the joint, sighing heavily at the buzz in her head. Amber seems to already be mellowed out from it, and the new source of alcohol now in the smaller girl’s system likely just amplified it.

Meredith doesn’t speak, just stands next to the other two girls as they smoke and drink in silence, occasional sighs breaking the silence. 

Eventually, Vi checks her phone, sighing. “Jesus Christ, how is it already ten?” she murmurs, putting the phone back into her pocket. “Hey,” she says, gently nudging Amber. “Amb? You feeling better?”

Amber gives Vi a soft, slightly lopsided smile. “Much better, I feel like I could go back in there and have a good time again, to be honest.”

Vi grins broadly. “Wanna go make the last two hours of this year our bitch?”

Amber smirks back at Vi. “Hell yeah.”

————————

As the next hour passes, Amber sticks to Vi like glue the entire time, Vi seeming to have no issue with it either as they dance around the living room, at this point drunk and high as everyone else likely is. Vi seems to be a pretty flirty and touchy drunk, too, even flirtier than she is normally, however, Amber doesn’t really mind it, welcomes it, even.

She doesn’t know if it was the venting or just the past week that confirmed it, but she knew very well her feelings for Vi weren’t just platonic. She hasn’t felt this way for a girl since Evelyn, and she loved yet hated it at the same time, feeling confident enough to allow Vi to hold her close to her when they were hanging or like this, secretly adoring it when Vi got touchy and or flirty around her. Filters were lost as they both got more drunk, and despite that Vi never tried anything too forward, the most she’d do was kiss Amber’s forehead at times when she had her close enough to hold, though Meredith did that so much that Amber just assumed it was a platonic gesture.

Then again, Meredith only ever did it once in a while, not multiple times in one night.

They only stop dancing when there’s a minute left until twelve, and Vi pulls her away to the back of the crowd as people move forward to watch the TV, showing the ball dropping in Times Square slowly.

A brief chuckle escapes Amber’s lips. “You think Mer has someone for her New Year’s kiss yet? Last year she just settled for my cheek.”

A grin grows on Vi’s face. “Of course Mer would,” she chuckles. “I’m sure she’s found someone, it’s Meredith we’re talking about,”

Amber nods. “I might be a little jealous,” she jokes, watching as the thirty-second mark hits.

Vi loops an arm around Amber’s waist, smirking at her. “If you want, I can substitute for her,” she offers, peering down into Amber’s eyes again.

Amber smiles bashfully, her face slightly darkening, and normally she’d stutter like crazy and decline, however, the alcohol and weed in her system give her way more confidence than she should probably have. “If that’s what you want, feel free,” she responds, tapping her cheek gently as she grins.

The ten-second mark hits, and Vi leans down and gently presses her lips against Amber’s cheekbone, smirking. 

Amber chuckles. “Little early, dork.”

Vi’s smirk grows against Amber’s skin. “I think I forgot to tell you something about myself,” she purrs, making Amber shiver.

9 seconds.

“What?” Amber asks.

7 seconds.

“I’m...a little impulsive,” she admits, making Amber’s eyebrows raise.

3 seconds.

“Impulsive? How so?” 

Vi chuckles softly, and as the next three seconds pass Amber’s head is tilted up slowly, she feels one hand settle below her jaw, the other slinking around her waist and pressing against the small of her back, pulling her flush against Vi as the taller girl gently presses her lips to Amber’s own right as the clock strikes twelve, smirking into it as Amber’s eyes widen in surprise. She doesn’t move at all, however, allowing Vi to kiss her for a few seconds after the clock chimes before pulling away, almost regretfully.

Amber’s eyes are still wide, her heart racing marathons as her face darkens to a crimson colour, smiling awkwardly. “Well, that was..certainly a way of going into the new year, huh?”

Amber’s still drunk, which is likely why she isn’t stammering and freaking out over the fact that the girl she liked just kissed her. She just gazes at Vi with a slight smile on her face. Vi smirks at her, though doesn’t move any further from the kiss, instead just grabs Amber and pulls her back to her for the rest of the party, heading back to the dance floor, the both of them giggling giddily.

After that, everything fades and grows blurry.


	13. Chapter 13

Amber wakes up when sunlight shines directly into her eyes, and she immediately covers them, groaning loudly as she turns over, lying face down on the mattress.

Wait, mattress?

Amber shoots up despite the pounding in her head from all the alcohol last night, looking around wildly. _‘What the- oh fuck, what happened last night?! Please don’t tell me I ended up sleeping with some random girl, god my head hurts’_

Amber looks around, first noticing that the clothes she wore last night were still on and that the jacket Vi had let her wear had been draped over her as she slept. She feels like she can recognise the room she’s in, not by its appearance but more so since the walls and the structure of it seem familiar. She gets up slowly, a hand to her head, and starts to head over to the window, about to open the blinds when she hears the door handle move.

Amber whirls, around, ignoring the pain in her head as she focuses on the door, and she thinks of every question she might have for this possible stranger when-

The door opens and it’s just a boy with white hair.

Oh.

Oh _no._

He looks over at Amber, eyes widening slightly once noticing her awake. “Oh, hey, you’re awake, I was gonna come to wake you up anyway-”

“Listen, anything that happened last night was a mistake, I am VERY gay and I’m sure you’re very nice but I am not interested-”

The boy gives Amber a confused look for a long moment before cutting her off. “Wait, what? No, no, Amber, right? Yeah, I didn’t sleep with you, nobody did. You’re still at our place, you and your friend were too drunk to go home so we let you stay over. I’m Max, Vi’s brother.”

Amber’s face grows warm with embarrassment realising her mistake. “Oh,” she murmurs, smiling awkwardly. “Jeez, I’m sorry, that’s..this is awkward, I blacked out after twelve last night so I had no idea what went down, sorry Max, this is...not what I wanted our first meeting to be like at all.”

Max, thankfully, chuckles at this, smiling slightly. “It’s fine, I get it, you woke up somewhere completely different, I’m sure that thought would have run through my head too if I were in your shoes.”

Amber nods, smiling back at Max. He seemed nice. “Thank you for letting me know what happened,” she responds. “But, er, where’s Meredith? I hope she didn’t leave me here. I can’t exactly...drive.”

Max tilts his head toward the hall. “She’s getting over her hangover on the couch. Vi carried you up here herself last night after refusing to let Meredith drive you home, but neither Vi nor Rhino wanted to carry her up a flight of stairs, despite them both being athletes, so she just slept on the couch last night,” he explains. “Vi and Rhino are downstairs with her, you wanna come down?”

Amber nods, checking around for her things. Her phone is on the bedside table and she grabs it, shoving it into her pocket after she glances at it. Her mother had called her three times and she had 10 unread text messages. _‘She must be worried sick, I never told her I’d spend the night there, fucking hell’._

Amber allows Max to lead her downstairs and into the living room, and as soon as she spots Vi sitting on the recliner with a hand to her head memories fill her mind, and her face turns a dark shade of red. 

_‘Oh my God, we kissed last night, we KISSED LAST NIGHT. Does she remember that? Does she like me? What if she doesn’t want to be friends anymore, what if our friendship stalls because of us not wanting to bring it up? What if-’_

“Amb?” calls a voice, Meredith’s voice, jarring Amber out of her thoughts. “Hey, dude! You’re alive!” she adds, grinning before she grimaces, clutching her head. “How’s the cranium doing right now for you?”

“It feels like I got hit over the head with a sledgehammer,” Amber groans, nodding to Max in thanks before she heads over to the couch, sitting down beside her friend. She gazes over at Vi, who looks at her wordlessly, smiling awkwardly before looking back at her phone.

Amber glances over at Meredith, who’s groaning whilst rubbing her temples slowly, hunched over on the couch. Her eyes widen when noticing the red marks on the bluenette’s neck before she smirks slightly. _‘I see someone started off her new year well’_ she thinks, chuckling to herself.

Meredith sighs, looking over at Amber with a tired smile. “You wanna head home now? I feel like taking an entire bottle of ibuprofen and then sleeping for a week.”

Amber opens her mouth to reply, however she’s interrupted by Vi, who puts her phone down for a moment to speak. “Actually,” she starts. “I was..thinking that since it’s noon Amber and I could...go out to get lunch? Unless you and Rhino want to come, I suppose.”

Meredith looks over at Rhino curiously, and the other girl shakes her head dismissively, giving the bluenette a knowing look. Meredith smirks. “I might stay here and chill with Rhi or head home, to be utterly honest,” she says, shrugging. 

Vi nods. “I’ll be driving, so I’ll bring Amber back to her place when we’re done, don’t worry,” she says, smiling slightly over at Amber as she slowly stands to her feet. “You intend on keeping that jacket or do I get it back now?”

Amber’s eyes widen, and she looks down at herself, realising that she had put Vi’s jacket on herself before leaving the guest room. Her face heats up, and she rubs the back of her neck awkwardly. “Oh, uh, yeah...sorry, I forgot I had it on,” she stammers, pulling it off before she hands it over to Vi.

Vi chuckles. “No, it’s fine, I just wanted to get you a better one,” she says, turning toward the foyer. She gives Rhino and Meredith a half-assed wave as she leaves, and Amber follows her, a bit curious as to why Vi was mainly inviting her. She had only invited Rhino and Meredith after asking her first, after all.

Vi stops before the door and pulls a red-and-white letterman with her last name on the back of it off a hook next to the door, passing it over to Amber. “Here,” she says, smirking. “I think you’ll look nice in this.”

Amber takes the letterman and looks at it. Since it’s Vi’s, and Vi was around seven inches taller than Amber, when Amber put the jacket on the sleeves went past her hands, and the bottom of the jacket reached halfway down her thighs. She looks up at Vi, and the look in her eye makes Amber wonder if she had more intentions behind her wearing Vi’s own letterman, and she squints.

She feels someone watching her and turns to look down the foyer, spotting Meredith and Rhino glancing at her from the couch, whispering to one another. Amber squints at them as well, rolling her eyes before she heads after Vi, who had already left the house.

Following Vi over to the driveway, Amber watches the taller girl pull out a pair of keys and press the unlock button, and a nice-looking cherry red car’s headlights flash for a moment before Vi heads over, opening the car door and hopping inside.

Amber heads over to the opposite side and gets in, looking around the interior. “Wow, this is...a really nice car, Vi,” she comments, trying to not sound awkward.

Vi chuckles, nodding. “A bit better than Mer’s truck, huh?” she says, smirking. “I promise you that this car has a zero risk of possibly bursting aflame,” she adds, laughing as Amber begins to giggle.

“What type of car is this? If that’s..not rude or invasive to ask.”

“It’s not,” Vi responds, shaking her head. “I got this for my birthday this year, it’s a Maserati,” she answers. 

“Damn,” Amber murmurs, whistling. “Sorry, my dad was super into cars, so it’s...kinda rubbed off on me, which is funny since..I can’t drive nor do I want to drive.”

Vi nods as Amber speaks, turning the ignition on and reversing the car until they were on the street. “It’s cool, nerd, I get that,” she says, driving. “I was thinking we’d go out to get Italian, maybe? Unless you want something else?”

Amber shrugs. “Honestly? That sounds great, I haven’t gotten Italian food in awhile,” she answers. “I’m down.”

Vi smiles slightly nodding. “Good, I know a nice place a little downtown we can go check out, I think you’ll like it, I went there last year with my family twice and both times I loved it.”

“Well, if you liked it I’m sure I’ll love it too,” Amber responds, not intentionally trying to word that flirtatiously. Despite that, Vi still clenches her hands on the steering wheel a little and gulps, though Amber doesn’t notice. They sit in silence for around five minutes after that until Vi suddenly speaks up.

“Hey, uhm, Amb?”

Amber looks over at the taller girl. “Yeah, Vi?”

“I..hm, this is a little awkward, wanted to talk about last night real quick and..sort some things out, because I feel a little guilty.”

“Guilty?” Amber repeats, eyebrows furrowing. “How so?”

Vi sighs, inhaling deeply before exhaling slowly. “Uh..it’s about the kiss last night, and how touchy I was being,” she starts. “I..apologise if I made you feel uncomfortable at all last night, when I get drunk I can get..very bold and very impulsive and flirty, and I wasn’t thinking straight. You had just vented about your ex to me like an hour or so before that and then I suddenly just pushed myself onto you and I don’t want you thinking I..meant anything by it.”

Amber feels her heart sink a little, frowning. “I don’t need an apology, Vi, it’s fine,” she responds. “Honestly, I didn’t mind it at all, I kinda started it anyways by letting you kiss my cheek, you know,” she states. “And it’s not like I view you any less, it’d be different if it was a random stranger, you’re one of my closest friends at this point, you know.”

Vi’s eye widens a little. “Am I?” she asks. “I..thanks, Amb, but are you sure that was okay? I have no idea if you’re dating someone else or not, hell, I don’t want you thinking I was-”

“Vi, I promise you it was alright,” Amber interrupts, chuckling. “First off, I’m single, I’m not dating anyone, you don’t have to worry about that.”

Vi seems to sigh out in relief, though Amber silently wonders and sort of hopes she’s sighing for more than one reason.

“And two, it was just a kiss, it’s not like we had sex or anything.”

Vi nearly swerves the car into the curb at that, though she doesn’t thankfully, fingers clenching so hard on the wheel her knuckles grow pale. She blows it off with a laugh, however, smirking over at Amber. “Started out with a kiss, how did it end up like this?”

Amber snorts in laughter. “Are you seriously quoting Mr Brightside right now?”

“It was only a kiss, it was only a kiss,” Vi whispers, and Amber rolls her eyes in amusement.

“You’re a huge dork.”

Vi doesn’t say anything to that, just plugs her phone into the auxiliary cord as she stops at a light. Amber immediately realises what she’s doing, but doesn’t make any attempt to stop her.

“Hey, Siri,” Vi starts, waiting for her to show up on her phone. “Play Mr Brightside by The Killers.”

In a moment, Mr Brightside is playing loudly on Vi’s speakers, and to Amber’s utter horror the taller girl immediately rolls down all the car windows on a street where people are walking on the sidewalks, causing some to look over curiously.

“Vi! People can hear this!”

“And? It’s a classic, Amb, everyone should hear it,” Vi says pointedly, laughing as Amber rolls her eyes, smirking slightly in amusement.

“If Mr Brightside is a classic, then we’re playing Africa by Toto after it,” Amber says, giving Vi a broad grin.

Vi proceeds to slam her hand on the steering wheel enthusiastically, accidentally honking the horn. “Fuck, oops, but anyways, have I ever told you that I love you?”

Amber’s face grows a little pink, but she plays along. “I don’t believe so, no.”

“Well, I do. I fucking love you and your ideas, Amb, we should get married. Elope to New York or some shit, we can live in a penthouse and live off of cheap beer and Doritos, and spend all day fucking to all the classics we can think of.”

Amber’s face heats up like a flame at the last part of Vi’s joke, and she smiles awkwardly, looking out the window to avoid Vi noticing her red face. “It’s 2018, Vi, we don’t need to elope, gay marriage is legal in both Seattle and New York.”

“Fuck that!” Vi says, and Amber smiles at the athlete’s sudden enthusiasm. “We’re eloping anyway! Nobody can tell us what we can and can’t do, and if they try, I’ll fight them!”

“Please don’t fight people for telling us we can’t elope, our eloping plans will kind of get set back if you’re sent to prison for beating people up for trying to explain something to you.”

Vi shrugs. “As long as you visit me in prison I’ll be fine.”

Amber rolls her eyes in amusement. “Why wouldn’t I? You’re supposed to be my wife in this scenario, or at the very least my fiance, I doubt I’d just leave you alone to suffer in prison.”

Vi gasps slightly. “Amber Zaine, are you telling me that you’d go to prison with me just so I wouldn’t be alone? That’s love right there, gosh, I might just swoon.”

“Keep your pants on, dork, I meant that I’d visit you, not go in with you. As much as I may theoretically love you in this situation, I am not sacrificing my future by going to prison, I’d be shanked within minutes.”

“If someone ever tried to shank you I’d shank them in the face,” Vi quickly responds, and Amber’s a little shocked at how fast Vi responded. “Nobody is shanking my theoretical wife.”

Amber smiles broadly, her heart soaring a little. “Thanks, babe,” she replies, not using the pet name in a genuine way like she secretly wants to, more so in a teasing manner. It makes Vi smile a little, however.

“No problem,” Vi responds genuinely. “You and me? We’d be the next Bonnie and Clyde as criminals,” she jokes. “Only...preferably without the “getting shot over fifty times” part, obviously.”

Amber laughs. “I was about to say, we might not wanna be in this car then.”

Vi chuckles. “Yeah, likely not the best date, getting shot inside this car,” she says, not realising that she said “date” until it was too late, her eye widening as Amber’s face flushes crimson.

Neither of them speak much after that.

\---------------------------

Vi doesn’t know how many times she’s cursed herself in her head at this point, and as they head into the restaurant Vi is pretty sure she’s now gone over a hundred.

To her utmost horror, it seemed everyone in here was on a date of sorts, and Amber notices it too judging by the red colour on her cheeks. Vi bites her lip and worries it between her teeth. This was and also wasn’t supposed to be a date. Vi was just..testing boundaries. She and Amber had only kissed when they were drunk too, and Vi just wanted to see if she was actually attracted to the smaller girl.

Of course, Vi already was attracted to Amber, she was just in a ton of denial over it, and was really just using the “I need to test to see if I’m actually attracted to her” thing as an excuse to take Amber out to places. Vi wouldn’t normally take people out to fancy Italian restaurants, after all.

Vi just didn’t expect this place to be full of couples at one in the afternoon. And now Amber might actually view this as a date, which wasn’t really Vi’s plan.

Nevertheless, instead of turning tail and going to a McDonalds instead, Vi perseveres, leading Amber over to the hostess, smiling forcefully. 

The hostess looks up from her notepad, smiling at the two girls. “Good afternoon, ladies,” she greets. “Table for two?”

Vi nods in response, and the hostess takes the two over to a table with two seats by the windows, placing two menus down on the table. “I’ll send your waiter over to you shortly,” she says, smiling at the two before heading off. Vi looks over at Amber with an awkward grin, opening her menu.

“I’d order us both wine or something nice like that, but you’re eighteen, I’m nineteen, and they will most definitely card me,” Vi states, sending Amber an apologetic look.

Amber smiles over at Vi, chuckling. “I think I can survive drinking lemonade or sprite, Vi,” she comments. “Besides, I’m...still a little hungover from last night, anyways,” she adds, chuckles growing into laughter

Vi smiles back. “Good, I’m glad there aren’t any complaints, er, unless you have genuine complaints, if so then let me know.”

Amber’s scanning over the menu now, and she glances up as Vi speaks. “Considering that you are..most likely paying for me since this place is so expensive I’m pretty sure I’d end up cashing out on a single appetiser alone, my complaints are little to none.”

Eventually, their waiter arrives, and Vi orders a water, Amber ordering a lemonade. The two look over their menus in silence for a few minutes after that.

“What’re you getting?” Vi eventually asks, closing her menu and setting it on the table. Amber holds up a finger for a moment, scanning the menu one more time before shutting it.

“Fettuccini Alfredo,” she answers, smiling. “What about you?”

Vi smirks, draping her arms over the back of her chair as she crosses a leg over another. “I’m going for the classic, spaghetti and meatballs,” she answers, licking her lips already at the idea of it. “Gotta access my inner child sometimes, right?”

Amber grins. “Of course, everyone should sometimes,” she responds, nodding. 

After the two order, they spend their time waiting for their food chatting about random things in their lives, school, plans for the future, likes and dislikes, and otherwise. Vi loves learning more about Amber, seeing as she did know a decent amount, like that she was an artist, that she had anxiety, and that her ex-boyfriend was a cunt, but watching Amber now talk so passionately about other things she liked, like writing, acting, and playing video games made Vi smile broadly, absolutely enamored as the girl across from her spoke. Vi obviously didn’t understand all of it, but she listened anyway, and when it came to be Vi’s turn to talk about her passions Amber listened to her just as attentively, making Vi feel great about herself and the date, as she finally decided to admit to call it.

Their chatter ceased a little once their food arrived, both girls focusing more on filling their bellies rather than chatting, however, they’d occasionally spark a small conversation throughout it.

“Oh!” Vi says after swallowing a mouthful of pasta. “I didn’t tell you about this gem yet, Amb,” she adds, grinning broadly. 

Amber takes one more bite of her fettuccini before speaking again. “I’m listening.”

Vi smirks. “Did you look over at Rhi at all this morning?” she asks, and when Amber shakes her head Vi smirks even more. “Rhi had so many marks on her skin this morning, you’d swear she had measles or some shit like that,” she laughs, eye alight with amusement. “Rhi doesn’t feel the need to cover that shit up, but damn, she must have had fun last night, I wish I had started my year like that,” she adds, grinning at the thought.

Amber seems to think about that for a second. “That’s funny, Mer also had quite a few hickeys on her neck too, when I glanced over at her this morning I saw ‘em,” she responds, chuckling. “Seems like they both got lucky last night, then.”

Vi nods, grabbing her glass of water to get a drink from it while Amber lifted another forkful of pasta to her lips. While Vi was drinking, however, she realises something, and Amber seemed to realise it too, the two gazing at one another mid-chew and mid-drink. Both of them swallow slowly.

“Oh my God,” Amber murmurs, eyes wide as she gazes at Vi. “You don’t think-”

Vi’s already snickering, covering her mouth with her hand as her eye squints from laughing. “Is it bad I kinda saw it coming?”

Amber looks up at Vi, smirking slightly, though she still looks shocked regardless. “I-,” she seems proud of what she’s about to say. “I think they did too.”

Vi bursts into laughter, slamming her palm onto the table as she hunches over, cackling so hard she starts to wheeze. Not even Amber seems to be bothered as people turn to stare at the two, as she’s giggling as well, covering her mouth with her hand to stifle them.

Once the two recover from laughing, they quickly finish eating, and Vi pays, and as they wait for the waiter to come back with Vi’s card they continue to chat idly, promising each other to pester each of their friends about the whole ordeal with grins on their faces.

Vi leaves the restaurant with Amber in good spirits and even takes the smaller girl out for ice cream on the way home, enjoying her smile whenever it graced Amber’s features. Regretfully, as the sun is going down at this point, Vi knows she has to drive Amber home soon, and she wishes she could make the day last longer.

They drive back listening to what they deem as “classics”, laughing and talking about random things the entire way until Vi parks outside of Amber’s house, noticing Meredith’s truck parked outside in the driveway. She gets out, Amber following suit, and walks her to the door. Once they reach it, Amber pulls Vi into a hug, shocking the taller girl. 

“Thanks for lunch, and the ice cream, Vi,” she says, looking up at Vi’s face. A part of Vi screams at her to pull Amber even closer and kiss her again like at the party but she holds herself back, instead just smiling back at her.

“No problem, nerd,” she responds, practically choking it out. “Oh, uh, since we might not see each other again before school starts back up, if I don’t see you, you know where to look for me after school, right?”

“Yeah, in the gym, right? Because y’all have one more game since they postponed it.”

Vi nods excitedly. “It’s championship, too, I hope you’ll be there for it, can’t play a winning game confidently without my good luck charm there watching,” she says, practically cooing it as she gently pokes the six on the jersey Amber is still wearing. Amber’s face turns red again, making Vi smirk. She liked it when Amber got flustered and wasn’t going to hide that anymore.

Amber looks at the ground for a few moments. “Well, I’ll be there, and if you ever wanna find me when I’m at school, you can always look in the art room,” she says. Amber then stands on her tiptoes, pecking Vi on the cheek suddenly before moving back. “I’ll see you soon, Vi,” she murmurs, waving and acting as if she hadn’t just kissed Vi on the cheek as she heads back into her house. Vi stands there, eye wide and a little dazed before she grins widely, giggling giddily. 

“Fuck _yes._ ”


	14. Chapter 14

School starts back up on January ninth, and as promised Amber does find Vi after school. Amber is in a relatively good mood, having turned in her winter break project in art early plus having a very small amount of homework as well.

Vi, however, isn’t as happy as she is.

Amber walks into the gym to find Vi stomping angrily out of the locker room, and though her expression visibly softens upon seeing Amber, she still stomps over until she’s standing in front of Amber, looking absolutely pissed.

“Vi?” Amber starts, eyes wide, and even she’s a little nervous. “What’s wrong? Did something happen earlier?” she questions, and, having become a little more bold about actions involving Vi, she reaches forward and grabs the girl’s hands, interlacing her fingers with Vi’s and squeezing gently. “Vi?”

Vi growls, tilting her head toward the gym floor. “Look over there, there’s my fuckin’ problem,” she states, eye narrowed. Amber around Vi, eyes widening in shock.

The gym floor is dotted with small or medium-sized holes with quickly made barricades around them, as if someone had stepped on the floor and it had crumbled underneath their feet.

“What the hell?! What happened, Vi?”

“Fuckin’ termites and rats happened because the goddamn exterminator didn’t do their goddamn job right!” Vi exclaims, tearing her hands away to gesture at the court. “We can’t play the final game now until they finish replacing the entire fuckin’ gym floor because nobody knows where else the floor is unstable,” she explains. “Which means our final game just got postponed to May twenty-ninth at the latest!”

Amber’s eyes widen. “Christ, that’s late as all hell, I’m..sorry about that, Vi, are you gonna be okay?”

Vi sighs heavily, and Amber can tell the taller girl is beginning to calm down, albeit slowly. “Yeah, I’ll survive, but we’re gonna have to practice until then, but...until April I’ll probably tone down practice meetups,” she answers, shoving her face into her hands for a moment, a loud groan leaving her lips. “Finals week is going to be absolute hell now, we were supposed to finish last year, god damn it.”

Amber doesn’t really know what to do. Well, there isn’t anything she can do, she’s not magic, otherwise, she’d snap her fingers and fix the floor in seconds. So she just does what she think might help, which is move forward and hug Vi gently, causing the taller girl to freeze slightly and gasp. Vi slowly moves her arms around until she’s hugging Amber back, however, pressing her face into the shorter girl’s hair, sighing.

“Thank you,” Vi murmurs, voice a little muffled. “Sorry this is how we had to meet up after eight days, but this is just...extremely annoying.”

“Of course it is, I get that,” Amber responds. “I’d be pissed too, if something I was passionate about got pushed back or cancelled suddenly, honestly, I think everyone would.”

Vi nods to that, moving from the hug slowly as she gazes down at Amber. “I..hey, do you wanna go out for coffee or something unless you have a ride home? We haven’t seen each other much and I don’t wanna focus on...this right now,” she asks, gesturing at the damaged court. “Plus, I like to hang out with you, you know.”

Amber smiles bashfully, curling a strand of hair with her finger as she gazes at Vi. “Well, Skylar is home sick, so maybe I can go, but doesn’t your brother pick you and Rhi up after practice?”

“I drove here today, actually,” Vi answers. “And I was intending on going out by myself already, I’m pretty sure Rhi is calling Max in the locker room to let him know to come pick her up.”

Amber smirks. “Text her and tell her that if Max says no I’m sure Mer will _gladly_ pick her up,” she says, snickering as Vi laughs.

Meredith hadn’t denied a single thing when she had been questioned on what happened after Amber had gotten home from her date with Vi, though her face had noticeably grown pink as she confirmed rumours. According to Vi when Amber had texted her about it, Rhino had staunchly denied it or had given vague answers whenever Vi would ask her, though Meredith’s response had answered every question they had.

Other than that, both Amber and Vi didn’t know much else about the two’s relationship, deciding to leave them be and let it sort itself out. Amber was secretly hoping it’d work out, she did want her friend to be happy after all.

As Amber heads out of the school with Vi in the lead, she allows Vi to lead her over to the red car and gets inside as soon as the doors are unlocked, smiling at the familiar sight of the interior of the vehicle, being reminded of what they did eight days ago. Vi gets in and starts the car before heading onto the street.

It’s a relatively short drive to the cafe, and they have to park and walk to it, so they do, chatting once again about random things as they head up. Vi opens the door and holds it open for Amber, and the two head over to the counter to order, Amber getting a salted caramel latte and Vi just getting a dark chocolate mocha. They go to a table and sit down, smiling slightly at one another.

“Oh, I saw Drake today, actually,” Vi comments, and Amber raises her eyebrows.

“Oh? Well, I’m sure that was a sight to see. Meredith let me know what she did after you and I went outside that night.”

Vi nods, smirking. “He looked like someone grabbed him by the hair and rubbed his face against a cheese grater, I don’t even want to _know_ what Mer did to him.”

Amber laughs a little, holding her head up with her hand as it leaned on the table. “Might not wanna get on her bad side, then,” she teases. “Can’t mess up your pretty face anytime soon.”

Vi flashes Amber a cocky smirk. “I dunno, I think I’d look pretty hot with a sick scar on my face,” she says, shrugging. “Your thoughts?”

Amber rolls her eyes in amusement. “Let’s try not to hurt yourself to that point, okay, Vi? I like your face the way it is, and you already _have_ a “sick scar” on your face.”

Vi seemed to have forgotten that she was missing an eye, and she lifts her hand up to her bangs curiously. “Oh shit, I forgot about that,” she says as their drinks arrive. Amber bursts into a heap of giggles.

“How’d you manage to forget about that of all things?” Amber giggles, gazing at Vi amusedly, who shrugs.

“I’ve had it for over a year, Amb, you tend to get used to things, even permanent impairments to your vision,” Vi states matter-of-factly, taking a sip of her coffee. “Also, I don’t think a literal hole in my face is sexy.”

Amber shrugs. “There are probably people out there that think that’s hot, you know.”

Vi’s lip curls in disgust. “Gross,” she says, making Amber giggle again. “I’ll pass on meeting them.”

They finish their coffee over more conversations, and Amber smiles once noticing that Vi looked much happier than she had been earlier. They soon leave the cafe with a spring in their steps, and when Vi’s hand accidentally brushes Amber’s she grabs it, making Vi grin involuntarily and start a little, though she doesn’t pull away.

————

Vi takes Amber home and stays over for a little bit, hanging out with Amber in her room after chatting with her mother for a little bit. They smoke with the window open and laugh and talk more while Amber continues to sketch more ideas while music plays in the background.

Vi glances over at Amber’s phone, which is playing the music using a speaker plugged into it. “Santa Monica Dream? You like indie music?” she questions, curious.

“Hm? Oh, yeah, I like that type of music and some more genres,” Amber answers, nodding. “alt-J, Syd Matters, Local Natives, Lord Huron, and Angus Stone, the like,” she adds. 

Vi nods, going silent again as the music continues to play. Amber sings the lyrics to herself from her spot on her bed, legs crossed as she sketches on a pad in her lap. She occasionally moves a strand of hair that gets loose and hangs in her face back behind her ear as she works, singing softly.

Vi watches her as she smokes, liking the way the slowly sinking sun’s light shines through the pride flag hanging from Amber’s window and onto the smaller girl, making her hair and skin glow a little as she works. Amber’s joint rests between her lips as she concentrates, occasionally allowing smoke to ebb from her lips as she opens them to exhale.

_‘I could get used to this, it’s so calm here right now..’_

“I’m somewhere...you’re somewhere..” Amber sings quietly, swaying slightly to the music as she draws, the sound of graphite scraping against paper soft, though noticeable.

Vi looks around the girl’s room again, noticing some pictures tacked to a bulletin board next to the desk. She peers closer, seeing assorted Polaroid photos of Meredith, Skylar, and Amber all together, of Amber and her mother, Amber with who Vi assumes was Amber’s actual father, and most noticeably pictures of Amber with the girl on her lock screen, the girl she’d never seen before.

“Hey, Amb?” Vi questions, knowing this might not be the best question to ask, but she was curious and wanted to know about her. “I..if this is a rough topic you don’t have to say anything about it, but if not can I ask who she was?” she asks, pointing to one of the pictures of the girl. Amber looks up, eyes widening a little, and Vi immediately regrets asking once noticing the pained look in the artist’s eyes.

_‘Fuck, bad move, Vi, I should have just asked Mer or her mom, damn it!’_

Amber sighs softly, putting her pencil down as she takes a long drag from her joint, breathing the smoke out slowly, gazing up at it as it slowly rises to the ceiling with an unreadable expression on her face. “Her name was Evelyn,” she breathes, seeking to assess her words slowly. “Evelyn Parks.”

Vi feels like that name sounds familiar, but she can’t quite put her finger on it, her eyebrows furrowing as Amber continues to speak, the smaller girl leaning back into her hands as she continues to gaze at the ceiling. 

“She was...my best friend since the fifth grade,” Amber finally says after a few long seconds of silence. “Also, to be honest? My first legit crush on a girl, maybe even first actual crush in general, though Eve was never interested in me like that,” she chuckles to herself, though Vi doubts it’s genuine. “She was...an enigma of sorts, you know? Was always able to make Mer, Sky, and I smile, was, to be honest, kind of the mother to our group before Skyler took over for her,” she adds.

Vi nods, acknowledging the “was” with a pang of empathy. _‘She’s dead, isn’t she? No, maybe she just moved away, please tell me she just moved away.’_

“Eve was kinda my rock, you know? Of course, Mer took her place after she left but, it’s never been the same. She was my first kiss with a girl, and she always had this...air to her that made me so fucking happy to be around her,” she adds.

“Amb, you..don’t have to go further,” Vi says, noticing how Amber’s eyes were glistening oddly in the light as if she were about to cry. “I’m sorry for asking.”

“No, no, I was going to tell you soon enough, I’m okay,” Amber shakes her head, chuckling weakly as she wipes at her eyes. “I...around last year, Eve slowly got more and more distant with us until one day she just...disappeared,” she continues, sighing. “Like, full on, nobody knew where the fuck she went. And none of us found out until a few days later, when Eve’s Mom came to our door about it. I thought she was just with other friends, not...missing, you know?”

Vi nods, a sense of dread beginning to fill her belly. “Yeah, I probably would too.”

“Mer was just about to start making missing posters a few days after that when we found out what happened,” Amber breathes out, voice beginning to waver. Vi gulps. 

_‘Oh no…’_

“She was on the news, found..” Amber breathes. “Found dead in the woods from an apparent drug overdose, accidental suicide according to the police,” she chokes out, and Vi rushes over from her chair when seeing tears begin to slide down the girl’s face, horrified by both that and also what had actually happened to the girl.

“Jesus,” Vi murmurs, getting onto the bed and allowing Amber to lean on her as she breathed heavily, clearly trying to calm herself back down. “Fuck, Amb I’m sorry, that’s...horrible.”

“Yeah,” Amber breathes, a weak smile appearing on her face. “I knew Eve was stressed but I never saw her as depressed, you know? I know her father and mother had divorced a while before it but she had never seemed bothered by it, so I couldn’t believe it, not at all.”

Vi nods. “Yeah, I...God, I don’t know how I’d react,” she murmurs. Truly, she didn’t. What _would_ Vi do if Max, Rhino, or Amber suddenly disappeared and turned up dead later on? The idea seemed so far from possibility at one point she had never even considered it, but now as she thought she truly didn’t know what she’d do, how she’d react, none of that.

“I almost dropped out of school when it happened, you know,” Amber continues, sighing. “My grades plummeted and I couldn’t even think about school, and…” Amber gazes down at her hands and wrists, and Vi’s heart plummets.

“You..you didn’t actually-“

“No, no, only once,” Amber responds quickly, allowing Vi to grab both of her wrists to examine them. 

There’s only a single scar each on the tops of the girl’s wrists, nothing more, and Vi sighs out in slight relief. _‘It could have been so, so much worse, thank God she stopped after those…’_

“Mer stopped me from doing anything further, actually, you can thank her for that,” Amber comments, as if reading Vi’s mind. Vi releases one wrist but keeps her grip on one so she can move her hand lower, grabbing Amber’s hand. 

“I’m glad,” Vi murmurs, sighing softly. “I’m glad you’re still here.”

Amber grins slightly. “Honestly, so am I,” she admits. “I’m so much happier now, thanks to Mer, Sky..Clarke and Anya, and you and Rhi, to be honest.”

Vi smiles a little. “I’m glad to have been apart of that.”

Amber nods, wiping the remaining tears away. “I’m glad I chose to stay in school, otherwise we wouldn’t have met most likely.”

Vi nods. “I’ll make a note to thank past Amber next time I see her,” she jokes, laughing as Amber bursts into giggles, leaning into Vi, squeezing her hand gently. 

Vi smiles down at her genuinely, her face a little warm as Amber leans into her.

_‘I should tell her how I fe- no, no, she literally just vented about her dead friend to you, Vi, what are you? An idiot?'_

The music had changed multiple times now, and Vi finally notices that a Paramore song is playing in the background, and she smirks, distracted from her thoughts.

“Paramore, huh? You know, you do look like the type to listen to them.”

Amber’s face darkens. “I- yeah, I suppose,” she stammers. “Mer and I like to sing along to the albums, we used to play _Riot_ when stressed about random shit.”

Vi nods, genuinely listening to Amber. “That’s cute.”

Amber stiffens a little. “I...how is it cute?”

“I dunno, just...seeing a younger Amber hopping around as a tiny ball of rage to Paramore in the background makes me laugh. It’s a cute image.”

Amber giggles. “Sure, whatever you say, dork,” she says, smiling broadly. 

Vi had left her joint in the ashtray on the desk when having rushed over to see Amber, and Amber had snuffed hers out on her jeans without somehow setting herself aflame, and after a while of silence once again, with Amber still leaning on Vi as she continued sketching once more, Vi being able to watch, Vi knew she’d have to leave eventually, as the sky began to slowly darken. She sighs softly.

Amber seems sad to see Vi go when she gets up and gathers the things she brought inside but nods, walking Vi to the door before the two hug in farewell, giving each other broad smiles before Vi turned to head to her car, hearing the door shut behind her.

She goes home and all she can think of as she lays down is Amber, and she groans as she rolls over and shoves her face into a pillow.

Fuck, she’s whipped.

—————————————

A month passes by oddly fast, and as Valentine’s Day hits Amber feels like it’s only been a day or two since school started again.

Amber wasn’t the biggest fan of Valentine’s Day, not because she was jealous of the couples, no, she just saw no real point in it. Her school did one of those “pay a dollar to send a rose out to your secret admirer/sweetheart” things, though Amber had never participated. She’d gotten a rose from Drake during freshman year once, and during sophomore and junior year, Meredith always paid to get her some with...creative notes written on them. Meredith’s creativity with notes on the roses had actually caused a rule to be formed that the notes couldn’t be read out loud, and Meredith found it hilarious to this day.

Amber sat in English class right now, secretly scrolling through Twitter on her phone, bored out of her mind. Everyone around her was gushing about what their partners had gotten them for Valentine’s Day, and although Amber did have something to give Vi, she didn’t expect to receive anything herself.

So when the kids who brought in roses came into the classroom and one dropped an _entire bouquet of roses_ right into her desk Amber was reasonably surprised. And so was the class, apparently, as everyone stared at her, jaws agape.

Amber grabs the note, scanning it slowly, but finds no signature or sign of the person who bought it on the note, and her eyebrows furrow in confusion.

_‘It’s not a mistake, it has my full name written on it, but who in the world would send me this? Mer never sent me full bouquets, but maybe she decided to go full o-‘_

One more rose is dropped on her desk with Meredith’s name written on the bottom and Amber sighs as she realises that Meredith is now not an option.

_‘I...hm...this would have been a bit pricey for a high school student unless you were...wait, Vi! Did Vi send this?’_

Amber’s not stupid, and she doesn’t know anyone who would willingly do something like this. Her face darkens, and a giddy smile appears on her face. If it really was Vi who sent it, Amber appreciated the gesture, biting her lip and wondering if the girl actually liked her back or if she just did this as a gesture of kindness.

Amber quite literally spends so much time thinking about this that she hardly notices when the bell rings, and she has to sprint to her next class, bouquet held protectively and securely in her hands.

When school ends, Amber meets Vi by the gym. It’d become normal for the two to meet there. Skylar wasn’t miffed over Amber doing it, she’d either walk home as normal or ride home with Meredith, in fact, the other athlete seemed pretty supportive of it, smirking when Amber let her know about it.

 _‘I nearly forgot about the bet..fuck,’_ Amber thinks, rolling her eyes. _‘I still don’t think we’re gonna get together before the school year ends. We’ve kissed, gone on multiple “dates”, and I don’t think Vi even acknowledges them as those!’_

As she’s thinking, Amber feels a tap on her shoulder, and she gasps loudly, whirling around to find Vi staring down at her with a faint grin on her face, eye lidded lazily as she regards Amber. Amber gazes up at Vi, wide-eyed, face faintly pink.

“Hey, nerd,” Vi greets, and Amber notices her gaze down at the roses and smirk slightly. “Looks like someone likes you quite a bit, huh~?”

Amber bites her lip bashfully, smiling through it slightly. “Suppose so, I’ve...never had anyone buy me so many, normally Mer just gets me one and that’s all.”

Vi leans against the wall outside the gym, smirking lazily now. “Well, I’m a little surprised, you’re so pretty that I’m perplexed as to why you aren’t leaving this school with a crate of roses,” she drawls, smirking as Amber’s face continues to darken. Over the past month, Vi had seemed to grow less hesitant when flirting and would do it much more often, though half the time Amber wouldn’t notice or just assumed she was playing around. She did notice now, though.

“Did...you get these for me?” Amber asks, smiling hopefully.

Vi seems to consider her answer for a moment, as if not knowing if she wanted to expose herself as the buyer. “Well, I might’ve…” she concedes, her smirk dying down to an awkward grin, rubbing the back of her neck. “You’re like, one of my best friends, after all, and...I doubt sending that to Rhi would have done much good considering that she’s my ex, you know.”

Amber smiles back at Vi, a genuine look on her face as she regards the taller girl. “Thanks, Vi...this was, really nice of you, to be honest,” she admits, peering up into Vi’s eye, which had widened slightly. “I think, and, don’t get too cocky, this might be the best Valentine’s gift I’ve ever received.”

Vi’s grin looks like it’s threatening to leave her face with how wide it is, and she puts down her backpack to rifle through it for a moment. “Damn, well, it’s hard not to be cocky right now, since I’m not done yet,” she says, smirking as she pulls out a bag of Starburst jellybeans, handing the entire bag to Amber. “Here, I would have gotten you chocolate but...you seem like the type to prefer fruity candy, to be honest.”

Amber smiles. “You’re right, I do,” she confirms, taking the bag eagerly. “You wanna share, though? I can probably take out this entire bag but I’d feel bad doing it with you right in front of me, you know.”

Vi laughs, smiling. “Sure, nerd, I’d love to, can’t let all that sugar in your tiny body, you might explode.”

Amber rolls her eyes. “Finally, it’s about time.”

Vi rolls her eye back. “Amb.”

“What?”

Vi seems to decide not to confront Amber on that, just leaving it be. “Whatever, come on, nerd, I’ll share the bag with you, but we’re gonna talk and walk while doing it. The school’s gonna close soon anyway.”

Amber nods and allows Vi to grab her hand and lead her outside after placing the roses in her messenger bag, the taller girl making a horrible attempt to throw jellybeans in the air and then catch them in her mouth as they walked. Half the time they would hit the floor with a clatter or land on Vi’s forehead instead, causing the athlete to curse softly.

They spend a good hour just chatting and eating jellybeans together, laughing and acting just as they did on the dates before. It’s eventually evening, the sun slowly sinking once more, before Amber remembers something that she had intended to do earlier, moving her head off of Vi’s lap for a moment so she could go rifle through her messenger bag, the taller girl giving her a confused look.

“Amb? What’re you looking for?”

“You’ll see,” Amber murmurs, grinning slightly as she pulls a folder out, opening it and taking out a coloured drawing of assorted red butterflies and monarch butterflies, all coloured with the Prismacolor pencils included in the kit Vi had got her for Christmas. She takes a deep breath before handing it over to Vi.

“I- I didn’t have a lot of time, Valentine’s Day came closer than I expected,” she stammers as Vi takes the drawing, eye widening. “But...I er, wanted to get you something that wasn’t typical, like flowers or candy, so I spent the last two days up all night drawing that and colouring it. I would have drawn you or something else like that but I didn’t know if I’d be able to finish it and I know your favourite colour is red so I thought that would be-”

“I love it.”

Amber pauses her word vomit, jaw slightly agape as she looks over at Vi. “I...you do?”

“Uhm, yeah? Amber, I like anything you draw, you know that,” Vi says, grinning over at Amber with a broad, genuine smile. “Especially because you..drew this _for_ me, when you didn’t even have to get me anything.”

Amber shrugs. “I...just, you’re my closest friend beside Mer,” she stammers. “And Mer always refuses to take gifts that aren’t food from me on Valentine’s Day since she doesn’t want me spending money on her,” she explains. “So I wanted to get you something as thanks.”

Vi smiles as she gazes at the drawing. “Fuck, I’m gonna get this shit framed so I don’t damage it on accident,” she states confidently, sliding it carefully into her bag. “You’re too good for this world, Amb,” she comments, gazing back at her. Amber smiles, and her face darkens a little when she feels Vi find her right hand on the bench, lacing their fingers together.

“I..suppose,” she murmurs, gasping softly as she notices that Vi had moved in closer, now being mere centimetres away from Amber, blinking slightly. Amber doesn’t think her face could get any redder at this point, quickly glancing down at Vi’s upcurved grin before gulping slightly, inhaling deeply.

Vi chuckles softly before moving closer, and Amber swears she’s about to kiss her before her phone suddenly goes off, making Vi move back and Amber curse under her breath, glaring down at the vibrating device with a look of pure hatred. _‘Damn it!’_

Granted, it was her mother, who was probably just wondering where Amber was right now. Amber sighs and picks up the phone, quickly informing her mother, as she asks her where the hell she is, that she’s just with Vi at school and that she’d be back home shortly. 

Putting her phone back down with a scowl, Amber frowns when Vi stands up, stretching as she avoids looking at Amber. “Sorry about that, Amb,” she says, grinning awkwardly as she finally looks over at the girl. “I should..probably take you home now, you know, before your mom gets worried again.”

Amber sighs admittedly, rolling her eyes. “Damn it...I suppose you’re right,” she concedes, gazing off to the side. “I was having fun...shame she knocked us both back into reality.”

Vi chuckles. “It’s simply horrible, truly,” she teases. “But fear not, we’ll be able to hang out more, I doubt either of us plan on suddenly disappearing forever, you know,” she adds.

Amber rolls her eyes as she stands up, allowing Vi to lead her over to her car. “Yeah, I have no plans on that, don’t worry.”

“Neither do I.”


	15. Chapter 15

April comes by faster than Amber anticipates, and sure enough on the final week before her contest entry is due Amber is locked up in her room, working hard on her entry, eyebrows furrowed so much you’d assume they were stuck that way.

She, per both Vi and Meredith’s requests, started early and at first didn’t stay up too late as to not, though as the week progressed she began to stay up late again, worried she wouldn’t finish in time.

Normally Amber would finish a painting in around three to four days, though this one was supposed to be the best work she’d done, and Amber had to focus on painting in the lighting the right way to keep the realistic look to it. 

Amber had decided, as a surprise to Vi and as a challenge to herself, to take one of the many sketches she had of Vi playing basketball and bring it to a canvas, one of her leaping for the basketball hoop with a ball in one hand. It had been done before, of course, but Amber did it to mainly challenge herself on painting lighting and realistic backgrounds along with realistic people, as well as to surprise Vi.

The last few days are when Amber pulls all-nighters to finish it up, and on the day it’s due Amber honestly feels a little proud of the piece, smiling as she gazes at it one more time before covering it, getting ready to load the canvas into Meredith’s truck before they headed to school. She had sent a picture of it to Meredith and Skyler, the two being openly proud of Amber and excited to see what she got on it once the results came in.

Amber, once arriving at school, carries the canvas over to the art room and drops it off among the other entries, and as she leaves she nearly slams face-first into Vi, the athlete seemingly having been waiting outside for Amber to come out.

Amber smiles as Vi pulls her into a hug, grinning up at the taller girl. “Hey!”

Vi smiles back at Amber. “Hey yourself,” she responds, grinning. “How are you?”

“A little tired, but...to be honest? Really giddy,” Amber answers, and in emphasis, she taps her right foot on the ground excitedly. “I can’t wait to see the results tomorrow,” she adds, eyes sparkling with glee. “I hope you like it when you see it.”

Vi seems to adore Amber’s giddiness, smiling more broadly now. “If it’s your art? Yeah, I’m damn sure I’ll like it,” she responds, giggling at the pink tint that appears on Amber’s cheeks at that. “If you don’t win, I’ll consider the judges blind or that they have absolutely horrible taste,” she adds, making Amber burst into giggles.

“Vi, there are other talented artists at this school, you know, not just me.”

“Yeah, but you’re like...the best one,” Vi argues, still grinning. Amber rolls her eyes in amusement at that.

She and Vi had gotten even closer, if that was even possible at this point, as the last month had flown by, still hanging out, though a little less often now that Vi was beginning to crank practice back into gear despite finals coming around the corner. Amber was positive that she’d be exempted from her art, forensic science, and English final, so all she had to do now was get ready to study for the other ones.

“How is practice going?” Amber eventually asks as the two are heading down into the cafeteria to wait for the first bell to ring.

“It’s alright, we’re all getting back to shape again, soon we’ll be at our greatest point, maybe even higher again,” Vi answers, smirking cockily. “Enemy team won’t even see us coming.”

Amber grins at the taller girl, loving her cocky attitude. “I’m glad you’re confident about it, you know I’ll be there to support you,” she states, and her heart soars at how happy Vi’s next expression looks.

“I know, I’d be a little sad if my good luck charm wasn’t there, you know,” Vi says, making Amber blush a little. “I may need all the help I can get.”

“Really?” Amber breathes, a teasing tone beginning to lace her words. “The great Commander? Relying on a nerdy art student for good luck? Oh, the humanity!”

Vi rolls her eye. “Oh, hush, Amb,” she laughs, slinging an arm around Amber’s shoulders, pulling her over so Vi could ruffle her hair. “I like your presence, it makes me feel good,” she adds, shrugging. “Don’t get all cocky, that’s my job.”

Amber smirks. “I can’t promise you anything.”

\-------------------

Amber spends the entire rest of the day and the entire night even anticipating the contest results. She hopes she wins, truly, for both the scholarship and the acknowledgement of her art, though she can’t help but feel a little insecure. There had to be other entries at her level or higher, what if she did lose?

Her sleep isn’t horribly restless, though she does lay awake for a while before passing out eventually, hoping that she had won as she drifts off.

Amber wakes up and heads to school as normal as she can in the morning, fists clenched with nerves as she walks there, deciding to spend her time thinking about Vi and other things to distract herself from her anxiety.

Amber, at first, doesn’t notice the crowd inside the art room as she nears it after entering the school building, nor does she see Vi, who was staring at the winning painting with a flabbergasted look on her face, eye wide. She only looks up when people turn to look at her as she enters, fully being jarred from her thoughts when they start clapping at her, and she looks up at the table in front of her, gaping once she notices the first place ribbon on the corner of her painting. 

The shock of it makes it so Amber doesn’t hear Vi sprinting over toward her, and she squeals in surprise when Vi suddenly picks her up, spinning her around.

“YOU WON!!!!”

Amber bursts into laughter, gazing down at Vi as the athlete holds her up by her waist, peering up at her with a massive grin on her face. Amber smiles, tears forming in the corners of her eyes as she rests her hands on both sides of Vi’s face, pressing their foreheads together. The win had given her a burst of confidence, and she doesn’t move back when noticing Vi’s face grow warm.

“God, I won,” she breathes, giggling as happy tears slide down her cheeks. She moves back for a moment to wipe her sniffling nose before returning to her previous position. “I won that scholarship, I got the fuckin’ scholarship, Vi!”

Vi smiles proudly at Amber, ignoring how close the two are and the whispers arising from the crowd around them. They could all get fucked for all she cared. “You did, God, I’m so proud of you, Amb,” she breathes, chuckling as the smaller girl looks to the side, her face darkening as she bites her lip.

“You recognise..the subject of the painting, right?” the artist questions, smiling bashfully at Vi. “I used the best muse I knew.”

Vi’s face practically lights aflame. “I-, yeah, I noticed, that’s why I was so shocked coming in here, I never expected you to draw..well, _me_ for something like this, Amb, thank you,” she breathes, a genuine look in her eye. “I feel honoured, to be honest.”

“Well,” Amber starts, chuckling as her eyes narrow, a sly smirk spreading across her face. “You might want to start feeling more honoured since first prize also gets their painting put on the wall in the main lobby, which means-”

“I get to be on the main lobby?!” Vi gasps, eye widening. “Holy ”

Amber bursts into laughter. “Yes, you, in the lobby, scoring a sick-ass point for everyone to see, painted on canvas with acrylic paint.”

Vi nods slowly, one of the broadest grins Amber had ever seen spreading across her face. “That’s so cool!!! Fuck, Amb, this is amazing! I could kiss you right now, I’m so happy!”

Amber’s eyes widen slightly, face slightly pink, however she plays it off with a laugh as Vi finally sets her down. “You’re a massive dork, and you’re welcome, I was happy to do it,” she says, chuckling. “You were fun to draw if that says anything.”

Vi smirks down at Amber once calming down, eye narrowed. “Well, anytime you wanna draw me, you can always ask, I’ll come over in a heartbeat, drop everything I’m holding and everything.”

Amber laughs even more and hugs Vi tightly, smiling into it. 

“I’ll keep that noted.”


	16. Chapter 16

Amber knows that Vi is ready the day of the match, as May twenty-ninth finally rolls around. She’s smirking broadly, practically preening like a peacock during the school day from beside Amber, and despite the fact that it was hers, she had insisted that Amber wear her own letterman around today, claiming that it would “amplify the luck”.

Amber was, as promised, wearing her jersey as well, and despite normally feeling anxious about it she enjoyed the stares she received from wearing Vi’s letterman around, and she refused to take it off even in the heat from outside. Meredith found the entire thing hilarious, though wouldn’t explain to Amber why she thought it was funny that she was wearing the letterman to Amber’s chagrin.

Once school ends, Amber stays instead of leaving, spending her time in the gym with Meredith as Skylar, Rhino, and Vi practised pre-match to warm up, occasionally taking breaks to come chat with the two non-athletes watching. Once four o’ clock struck, though, the three athletes had to head to the locker room for prep, and before she left Vi leaned over and kissed Amber on the cheek, claiming that it was “for luck” before she left for the locker room, leaving Amber a flustered mess on the bleachers.

Both Amber and Meredith quickly leave just to give the ladies in front of the gym now their tickets before returning to their seats at the bottom of the bleachers, the two both watching as people slowly filtered in and took their own seats.

Amber spots Max walking into the gym around four thirty, looking around, and when Amber waves him over the boy smiles slightly, walking over and sitting beside her, introducing himself again to Meredith as he joins their conversation.

The game starts at five, and just like the last one as Vi trots out onto the court across from the enemy team she gazes over to the bleachers and smirks at Amber, winking, though it looks a bit odd considering she’s wearing her eyepatch again.

The game starts, and Vi’s team immediately begin demolishing the enemy team with ease, clearly having put their practice to good use as they move quickly across the court, almost in sync. The opposing team does slowly build themselves back up to speed eventually, but Amber has a hunch that Vi wouldn’t allow them to get past them.

As the game progresses, players are swapped on and off the bench, and both Amber and Meredith roar out in outrage when Skylar gets elbowed in the cheek, sending her and the guilty player onto the benches. She spots them both and gives them a half-hearted thumbs up, grinning and mouthing an “I’m okay!” to them so they’d possibly consider not beating the perpetrator to the ground.

Amber and Meredith both decide that they would consider it, nodding to one another.

The teams are tied at one point, and as the game slowly draws to a close Amber worries that they’ll be stuck in a tie-breaker when Vi suddenly streaks forward, breaking through the enemy team as the ball is passed as fast as possible from player to player. Only a few seconds are left on the clock, and Vi makes it a few feet away from the net before grabbing the ball, proceeding to launch it up and into the net perfectly, making the home crowd go wild as the alarm signalling the end of the game rings out. Amber stands up on the bleachers, enthusiastically screaming out in glee as Vi lifts her hands up in victory, stamping a foot onto the ground before yelling “WE WON!” at the top of her lungs, looking down and directly at Amber, her trademark cocky smirk pasted on her face as she allows her team to pick her up and carry her off toward the locker rooms. “PARTY AT MY HOUSE TONIGHT AT SEVEN!”

Amber and Meredith look at one another with broad grins, and the two quickly wish Max, who looks a little exasperated at the mention of another party, a farewell, rushing off to the parking lot giddily. Amber practically leaps into Meredith’s truck as the bluenette starts it, and they tear off toward Amber’s house to get ready, Amber letting Vi know she’d be there soon as they went by text.

Amber and Meredith both bustle into her room to get ready, Meredith immediately going off to change into one of the outfits she always left at Amber’s house excitedly, promising to do Amber’s makeup when she was done changing. Amber decided to keep on what she’s wearing, though she does comb her hair and change into the Doc Martens she wore for the last party.

Meredith comes back a few minutes later in a white muscle shirt and ripped jeans, smiling over at Amber. She has her sit down on the bed so she can do her eyeliner and mascara, even putting a little eyeshadow on as well.

With the both of them ready to go, Amber heads downstairs excitedly and lets her mother know what’s going on before letting Meredith take the lead and sprint down the driveway and to the Ford, leaping back inside before they headed off to the party, both grinning excitedly on the way there.

\-------

Skylar had met up with Meredith and Amber as they were heading up the sidewalk, a bruise having formed where the girl from the opposing basketball team had hit her. She was grinning at them regardless and assured them that she couldn’t feel it before they headed into the house.

Skylar and Meredith had disappeared as soon as the three got there, and Amber later saw Skylar talking to Rhino, both of them glancing over at Amber when they noticed her staring, both smirking and waving, which had bothered Amber by a little bit.

Vi was nowhere in sight, which saddens Amber a little bit, as her long realised feelings for the taller girl hadn't subsided at the slightest, and she was really hoping that she'd see her tonight.

She did manage to find Meredith, however, who led Amber over to the counter so she could get a bottle of beer for the both of them.

"Hey, are you okay man?" Meredith asks once they were both sitting down on the fireplace mantel in the living room. "You seem lost."

"Well, Vi is nowhere to be found..which is disappointing,” Amber complains. “I mean, obviously, if I don’t see her much it’s not the end of the world, but...I did wanna talk to her for a bit, at least, congratulate her on the win, I mean.”

Meredith laughs. "Sweetie, I saw Vi earlier. This is her house, she's probably getting drunk with her friends or something."

"Yeah…I guess."

"And don't worry, I've had my eyes on the staircase and hallways. Vi hasn't taken anyone with her towards them, so you don't need to worry."

Amber sighs, happy that she didn't have to deal with heartbreak and disappointment tonight at the very least.

"Please, Vi doesn't like me like that. She'd say no if I asked,” Amber dismisses suddenly, feeling a flash of anxiety run through her body. Although Vi was close to her and they had been so close most likely considered them a couple, so Amber brightens a little at the thought of her having a slight chance.

Meredith seems to give Amber a knowing look, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "You'll never know until you try, sweetheart."

"True,” Amber laughs, shrugging. 

Meredith suddenly pulls her phone out of her pocket, checking it with furrowed eyebrows. "Oh shit," she breathed, chuckling lightly. "Skylar just messaged me. They're doing body shots in the game room."

"Oh, that's cool."

"Vi's down there if you wanna go say hi."

Suddenly, Amber was walking as fast as she could toward what she hoped was the game room, Meredith following with an amused smirk on her face.

She heads down a small set of stairs before walking into an open doorway to find a crowd of people surrounding a boy, someone she remembered from her forensics class, laying on a pool table with another boy standing between his legs, crouched over the boy as he drags his tongue up his abdomen, and Amber clearly spots the lime in the first boy's teeth as he shudders under the others touch.

Meredith whistles slowly behind her, startling Amber. "Damn," she mutters. "Sign me and any girl who's willing the fuck up for that. Amber?"

"In your dreams, Owens."

"Oh please, I'm sure you have the hottest dreams about me, with how you look at me," Meredith teases, laughing at the glare Amber sends her in response.

"Calm down, Zaine, I'm just kidding."

"Mhm."

"Besides, I don't wanna make Vi jealous," Meredith adds, tilting her head forward so Amber turns around, noticing Vi staring right at her and Meredith from across the room, and Amber could've sworn that she spotted something akin to envy in the athlete’s eye before it disappeared.

"Go on," Meredith whispers, gently pushing Amber forward with the palm of her hand after a few moments of silent staring. "Go be your gay self. I'll be fine on my own."

Amber nods gratefully, smiling at Meredith slightly.

"I guess I'll see you later then?"

"Please, I'll probably be crashing at your place tonight anyways, unless I manage to get laid. Don't wanna risk the 'rents finding out that I got drunk tonight."

"Alright, the key is under the mat if you beat me there, as always."

"If you end up not coming home then don't worry about it, good luck with Vi," Meredith teases, winking at Amber before she stalks off, heading towards a cluster of girls that had formed in the corner.

Amber shakes her head at the bluenette’s receding form, rolling her eyes in amusement before she feels a hand on her shoulder, and Amber spins around in shock, eyes wide.

And there she was.

Vi stands in front of her, wearing an unzipped black leather jacket that covered up a see-through shirt, showing off a lacy black bra underneath it, along with her tattoo. Her ripped jeans hung low on her, showing off her hipbones, and Amber feels her face heat up at the sight of her, and she bites her lip slightly, her throat going dry as she swallows.

Amber feels a little out of place, in her casual ripped jeans and jersey, as she had felt no need to really dress up for this. And Vi stood here, looking gorgeous, while Amber, in her opinion, looked…mediocre. At least she had put on mascara and eyeliner, otherwise, she thought she'd look like someone who didn't even know this was a party.

Deciding to apparently contrast her opinion, Vi grins awkwardly, looking down at Amber. "You…look really pretty tonight."

Amber shakes her head in disagreement, smiling a little. "Please, I don't even compare to you."

Vi laughs a little at that. "I do look pretty damn good, I will admit," she admits, the cocky part of her personality taking over. "But still, you do look great."

"Well, thank you, Vi."

Vi seems to be about to say something else when they’re interrupted by Skylar yelling out something, and both girls turn to face the other girl, who stands on the bar on the opposite wall, holding a bottle of tequila in the air in one hand and a shot glass in the other.

"Alright, guys! Sebastian and Josh are done and are most likely off fucking somewhere now, so it's time for two new people to be chosen!"

Vi groans at that. "They better not be fucking in my room. I'll kill them."

Amber laughs. "Your house is massive, I'm sure they didn't even try to go near a room that's upstairs."

Vi smirks a little, nodding proudly, and she turns back toward Skylar, who was now joined by Rhino, who looked equally as drunk as she stood haphazardly beside the slightly shorter girl next to her.

"You know how it goes, losers. Skylar and I each choose one person, and they both decide which kind of shot they want to do."

Skylar quickly chimes in. "And please, keep your pants on during it. I don't wanna see any asses or dicks or anything. Keep that shit to yourself."

Rhino rolls her eyes in mock disappointment. "Anyways, Skylar, you can choose the person to be giving the shot first.”

Skylar and Rhino search around the crowd of people with prying eyes and Amber can clearly tell between the people who actively want to do this and the people who were trying to remain unseen from Skylar or Rhino's gaze, hiding behind people or objects.

Vi didn't seem to really care, and Amber knew Skylar wouldn't call on her. She was one of her best friends after all, why would she ever- 

"Amber! I see you over there. I choose you!"

Oh, for fuck's sake.

Cursing under her breath, Amber slowly walks forward, feeling multiple people begin to stare at her, and she knew that some of the stares weren't very innocent as she did, spotting a certain group of jocks staring right at her appraisingly as she walks past them, making her shiver in disgust.

Skylar had gotten off the counter and stood by the pool table, helping her onto it and Amber looked over at her.

"First off, fuck you," Amber begins, and Skylar snorts in laughter, precariously beginning to pour a shot of tequila into a shot glass. "Second off, how does this shit work, describe what my choices are or whatever."

Skylar bursts into giggles. "Right, I forgot how innocent you are," she murmurs, laughing harder at the look of complete and utter fury that appears on Amber's face. 

"Alright, you've got two choices," she starts, smirking. "One, you can draw a line or have your partner lick a line on a part of your skin, preferably your stomach, trust me, and then put salt on it, and your partner will lick the salt off and then drink this shot of tequila, and they'll take the lime, which you'll have in your teeth," she explains, picking up a lime slice from a bowl next to them.

"Or, we pour the shot down either your chest or your navel and your partner drinks it off of you, and the lime stays there as well."

Amber didn't really like either of these. "I think…I'll just let my partner decide," she murmurs, hoping to God that Rhino wouldn't be an asshole and would choose a girl, preferably someone she didn't know.

"Alright, well, either way, take your shirt off. You may try to do it on your neck, but trust me, if you end up with a stranger you probably don't want a massive hickey on your neck from that, because you will get one if you do."

Amber sighs, nodding slowly before she grabs at the hem of her shirt, pulling it up and over her head, handing it to Skylar without a word. She wasn’t against doing this, it’s not like she felt like she was being forced, in fact, the idea of doing this kind of gave Amber a burst of adrenaline, Amber just worried about who her partner might be. She really hoped she didn’t get a boy or an absolute creep in general.

Amber then searches around as Rhino was busy deciding, and with a bit of embarrassment and a bit of disgust she notices how many people were actively checking her out, and she glances at Vi deliberately through the corner of her eyes, and notices that the taller girl was looking at anyone who was staring at Amber with a dark look on her face, and Amber watches as she cracked her knuckles slowly, blushing a little at the gesture.

When Rhino seems to open her mouth in a way that told Amber that the athlete knew who she was going to pick, it filled Amber with dread, as she prayed to God that it wasn't a boy or wasn't one of her close frie-

"I choose Vi!"

Oh _fuck._

Vi's eye widens, jaw slightly going agape, but she quickly plays it off with a cocky smirk once people begin staring at her, raising her eyebrows in challenge as she walks toward Amber, who currently wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and die.

Rhino hops off the bar as Vi walks over, brushing past her and heading over to Meredith, who was watching the display from a corner with a broad smirk. The two glance at one another with faint smiles and Rhino leans against the wall beside her to watch.

Skylar glances at Vi as the taller girl reaches the table. "I assume you know what you're doing?"

"Of course. I've done this stuff before," Vi murmurs, and when she looks over at Amber with her usual smirk Amber feels like melting. She’s still growing easily flustered at the girl’s smirks or flirtatious anythings, much to her chagrin.

"Be careful with Amber, she's never done this kind of stuff before and if you make my friend uncomfortable I won't hesitate to kick your ass, captain or otherwise,” Skyler suddenly warns the taller girl, giving her a warning look. Amber rolls her eyes. Skylar was the one who chose her, after all? Why was she getting so protective?

"Skylar, she's my friend too, I wouldn't do something that could hurt her."

"Good. So what're you both gonna go with?"

"I want you to mix both one and two together. Pour the shot in her navel, since she's laying down, and I want the salt right here," Vi directs, gently dragging her finger along Amber's right hip bone, tracing it, causing Amber to shiver slightly.

Skylar whistles slowly. "Damn, alright," she murmurs, putting the glasses down so she could unscrew the bottle of tequila.

Vi peers directly into Amber's eyes. "I will stop if you tell me to during this, but are you sure you’re okay with me doing this?"

Amber, not wanting to back down from a challenge, and especially not wanting to miss this opportunity with Vi, nods without hesitation. "You have my consent."

Vi smirks, and Amber could have sworn that she heard the taller girl mutter "Good" under her breath, although she dismisses it as her hearing things.

Skylar hands Amber a lime slice, and Amber places it between her teeth, tasting a bit of it as she does. She lays down on the hard surface of the pool table, and her eyes widen as she watches Vi grab her by the knees, spreading her legs apart gently until she could stand between them.

Vi slowly hooks her fingers in the belt loops on her jeans, pulling them down slightly so that Amber's hipbone was fully exposed, chuckling a little at the surprised squeak that left Amber's lips as she did it. Amber breathes heavily, watching as Vi grabs another lime slice, and she proceeds to drag it along Amber's hipbone, creating a wet line along it, which she then adds salt onto, so it'd stick to her hip bone.

Then came the tequila.

Amber suddenly feels pretty grateful that she didn’t put her navel piercing in before she left home earlier.

Skylar helps this time, and Amber squeals in surprise as the cold liquid hits her stomach, most of it accumulating in her navel, and any residue that didn't make it there moving down to the hem of her jeans or up to the hem of her bra in rivulets. Anything else dripped down from her sides onto the pool table.

Vi looks right into Amber's eyes, and for the first time Amber notices how blown out Vi's pupil had grown, and her cheeks darkened, noticing the flirtatious smirk Vi sends her before she finally moves forward.

Placing her hands on the table to secure herself, Vi lowers herself down to Amber's navel first, and the first time Amber feels Vi's tongue against her skin she gasps loudly, feeling her tongue circle around her navel as well, teasingly, and her gasps turn into deep breaths as Vi finally moves from her navel, focusing on the stray streams of tequila that had left lines leading down and up her skin.

Vi goes down first, dragging her lips slowly across her skin until her chin hit the hem of Amber's jeans, and Amber whines a little at the feeling, feeling Vi teasingly kiss the skin about an inch or two above the hem before she moves back up, her mouth moving up her stomach and just inches from the hem of Amber's bra until Vi was sure she had gotten every bit of alcohol on Amber's body, finishing off with a soft kiss to her stomach.

Amber nearly forgets about the salt resting on her right hip bone until Vi moves down and attaches her mouth to the bone, licking up the salt and leaving soft kisses on places where she had licked or sucked on her skin, causing Amber to whine audibly and writhe around a little, and she has to sink her teeth into her lip to prevent herself from bucking her hips upward, feeling the taller girl chuckle softly against her skin.

It was at this moment where Amber realises that Vi was deliberately trying to turn her on, and, much to her own embarrassment, she had to admit it was working.

Vi moves away eventually when she seems to feel like she was done, and she sends Amber a broad smirk when she notices how red her face was. She holds out her hand, and Skylar hands her a full shot glass, which Vi downs quickly, licking her lips in a way that Amber knew by now was just a way to tease her, as Amber feels a shock of warmth flood through her body, her cheeks heating up in embarrassment.

Putting the glass down, Vi leans forward again, until her face hovers mere inches above Amber's, her black hair brushing up against Amber's jaw until Vi pulled it back. She locks her eye with Amber's, Amber noticing that her pupil was still blown out, and leans her head forward, gently biting down on the lime caught between Amber's teeth. 

When Vi didn't move away after a moment, Amber nearly opens her mouth to let go of the lime, confused, before Vi suddenly pulls away quickly, spitting the lime out of her mouth. Before Amber could even get up and gain her bearings, Vi's face was close to Amber's again, her hands were pinned to the pool table, and Vi's lips are on her own within seconds, causing Amber's eyes to widen in surprise.

Amber didn't respond for a moment out of utter shock. Was the other girl just doing this as a drunk impulse, or was she actually doing this as a way to confess her feelings? Amber definitely couldn’t tell, herself, but she wasn’t about to let this slip from her grasp like it did on New Years.

As Vi seems to frown, beginning to pull back as she assumes Amber wasn't interested, her hands leaving Amber's wrists, Amber suddenly surges forward, both of her hands grabbing onto the sides of Vi's face so she could pull her down to her again, pressing her lips against Vi's with more passion than intended, but she supposes that Vi would be alright with it nonetheless.

Vi gasps slightly, however, Amber feels the other girl genuinely smile against her lips, kissing back eagerly. Amber, being slightly drunk and hungry for more contact that she had honestly been desiring for a while now, completely forgot that people were watching them as she moved forward.

Amber's left arm wraps around Vi's neck, her right staying on Vi's face, and she arches her back, pressing her body flush against Vi's as she moves her legs up, wrapping them tightly around Vi's waist. Vi's hands settle on Amber's waist in response, and Amber feels the taller girl begin to pull her into her arms when they’re both interrupted by someone clearing their throat, causing the two of them to finally break apart.

Amber looks over to the left, noticing Skylar staring at them with her hand covering her mouth, obviously trying to prevent herself from laughing, and she breathes slowly before tilting her head back to the large crowd that had surrounded them, tons of people that either had jaws agape in shock or were cheering for the both of them.

Amber notices Meredith looking at her, sending her a thumbs up and a knowing smirk, and Amber allows herself to smile at her, also noticing Rhino next to the bluenette, eyebrows raised slightly in surprise as she smirks slightly

For once, Amber doesn’t focus on how many people were all staring at her and talking about her, she didn't care about it at all, which shocks Amber a little.

But then she realises that she wasn't embarrassed. She was happy, actually, the broadest grin on her face as she returns her gaze to Vi, who was looking at her as well, a somehow broader grin on her face, her eye filled with warmth. She bites her lip awkwardly, glancing over at the crowd once or twice before she speaks up, her voice a soft whisper that only Amber caught.

"Do…do you want to move somewhere else? With fewer people?"

Amber chuckles, nodding. "Yeah," she breathes, "I do."

Vi nods, and she slips her arms under Amber's back, wrapping them around her before she pulls her up off the pool table, Amber's legs still secured around the other's waist, and with one last glance and nod at Skylar, she carries the smaller girl out of the game room, as Amber buries her face in the taller girl's shoulder, a large smile on her face.

Amber was already beginning to really like being carried around, especially by Vi.

Amber feels Vi begin to walk upstairs, and it takes her mere seconds to realise that the taller girl was taking her to her room, and her cheeks heat up at the thought of what they might be doing once they arrive there, although it didn't do anything to dampen her excitement.

Vi shifts her shoulder slightly, pushing the door to her room open, and Amber hears her breathe out a sigh of relief once she notices that nobody was in her room, shutting the door behind her with a kick before she moves her head back, staring up into Amber's eyes.

"I…you have no idea how glad I am that you kissed me back," she murmurs, grinning broadly. "I've liked you, a lot, for some time now, and I know that kissing you after doing something like that probably wasn't the best way to show it, but it was the only thing I could think of."

"And here I was worried that you only did it because you're drunk," Amber breathes, and, wow, was she beginning to get emotional over this? Damn.

Vi laughs. "No, I mean it. I really, really like you, Amber, like, more than friends like you, and…I've just been having trouble trying to figure out a way to ask you out," she says, smiling awkwardly. “Which is...odd considering who I am, but I guess girls like you can make even the most confident girls question themselves,” she adds, smirking slightly as Amber laughs.

Amber's cheeks grow warm, and she giggles, giving Vi a soft forehead kiss. "I guess I owe Skylar twenty dollars, then," she murmurs, her hands cupping Vi's neck, thumbs brushing Vi's jaw. "I love you."

Vi cocks an eyebrow at Amber. "I..I love you too, but what's this about you owing money to Skylar?" 

"We...uhm…might've bet on whether you and I would get together before the year ended," Amber admits, her cheeks heating up in embarrassment. "Obviously, as you can kind of tell, I lost."

Vi went quiet for a second, and Amber almost assumes that the other girl was bothered by that for some reason before a wide grin appears on the taller girl's face, and she bursts out laughing, almost dropping Amber in the process.

"Oh my GOD," she wheezes, burying her face in Amber's neck as an attempt at stifling her laughter. "You- you actually fucking _BET_ on whether you and I would get together!?"

Amber’s face turns a dark crimson colour. “I- I mean, back then I didn’t even think you wanted to be friends, let alone date me!” she defends herself, groaning in embarrassment. “You know how I can get sometimes…”

Vi chuckles, and before Amber can start to defend herself more she shuts her up with a quick kiss, startling Amber a little. “Sh, it’s alright, if it helps I was worried you and I would never become friends in the beginning, and now look at us, making out on pool tables and everything,” she states, making Amber blush even more.

“Honestly, with how far we were going I almost wonder if we would have stopped if someone hadn’t had called us out,” Amber comments, her blush dying down as she giggles. “That..as funny of a story as it sounds, is not the way I think I’d want to lose my virginity.”

Vi smirks at Amber, narrowing her eye. “I dunno, if you got one choice tonight to lose your virginity somewhere here, with nobody at the party in the house, would you change your mind?”

Amber rolls her eyes. “It’s a bit uncomfortable, besides, what if our combined weights and us moving around broke it?” she questions, face growing beet red at the implications, causing Vi to burst into laughter. “I uh..would prefer it be on a bed or a couch.”

Vi smirks at that, giving Amber a lascivious look. “There _is_ a bed right behind you, you know,” she purrs, grinning.

Amber turns around, blinking at Vi’s bed before she bites her lip, face feeling like it was on fire as she looks at Vi. “I- Jesus, Vi, are you actually implying-”

“Hey, look, we just made out on a goddamn pool table, and I spent most of it with my mouth on your abdomen, we could always continue,” she offers, winking. “Unless you seriously don’t want to, then I’ll back off.”

“We just got together,” Amber points out.

“Yes, I know, Amb.”

“I mean- I’m curious, yeah, and I’m thankfully not drunk much, but...wouldn’t it be bad if we had sex right after getting together?”

Vi cocks an eyebrow, already growing giddy as she taps her foot on the floor. “How the hell would it be bad? It’s not like I’m gonna fuck you and then throw you out, I wouldn’t do that to you, Amb.”

“I guess I’ve just heard-”

“Rumours? Babe, I might be a ladykiller but I certainly ain’t a-”

“It’s not the rumours, I just, I’m always told you have to wait a few months..or weeks until you have sex, otherwise-”

Vi gives Amber a confused look. “You...do know that all relationships are different, right Amb?” she says, shrugging. “I mean, look, Amber, if you don’t want to then honestly? We can go back downstairs and enjoy ourselves or just enjoy each other’s companies here, I really don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

Amber breathes in-and-out for a few moments, clearly thinking. “No, no, I... I do kinda want to,” she admits, face darkening a little. “But I’m just nervous, I guess. I’m kinda stalling-”

Vi rests a hand on Amber’s shoulder, smiling reassuringly. “Amb, if we do end up doing this tonight, I promise you I’ll be careful and gentle, okay?” 

Amber gazes into Vi’s eye. “I trust you,” she murmurs, linking their hands together. “Just...don’t treat me like fine china is all I ask,” she adds, chuckling awkwardly. “I may be nervous but I’m not weak.”

Vi smirks before chuckling. “No babying you it is,” she teases, kissing Amber’s nose. “If we’re gonna do it but we go back downstairs to hang out first we...might not want to drink. I really don’t wanna do something to you that you regret in the morning.”

Amber rolls her eyes in amusement. “I doubt there’s much you can do that would make me regret anything, well, other than maim or attempt to murder me.”

Vi bursts into laughter. “Yeah, well, you don’t need to worry about that. I think I’d cry at the idea of even punching you.”

Amber smiles. “Well, that’s reassuring,” she jokes, laughing alongside Vi. As they grow silent, they smile at each other awkwardly, the tension in the air very obvious, and Amber shuffles her feet slowly before gazing up at Vi, nervously smiling. Vi seems to keep quiet as if assessing what Amber’s next move would be. Would she leave or would she stay?

“Vi?” Amber breathes, allowing the girl to move closer to kiss her forehead, giggling as she starts to pepper kisses down her cheekbones and toward her jawline. “You still feeling a little impulsive?”

Vi pauses for a moment before a broad smirk grows on her face. “Perhaps,” she coos, gently wrapping her arms around Amber’s waist as to pull her against her. “Depends on if you’re feeling impulsive too.”

Amber bites her lip, trying to think of how to initiate this. She slowly moves her hands around until she can pull Vi down to her height by the front of her shirt.

“Well, considering I’m acting on forethought right now...not so much,” Amber husks, smirking at Vi’s confusion before she moves forward and gently presses her lips to Vi’s, forcing back a chuckle when the taller girl’s eye widen a little in surprise.

_‘You can do this, Amb, you’re only losing your virginity to a really attractive basketball captain who also happens to be probably your girlfriend now, not that hard, right? Honestly, this feels more like a dream than anything now that I think of it’_

She’s knocked out of her thoughts when Vi nips her lower lip, starting her out of her reverie as she notices that they had moved backward a bit, and when the backs of Amber’s legs hit the bed and she loses her balance, falling onto the mattress back first she fully realises that this was actually happening. This wasn’t a dream.

Vi gazes up at her, looking a little dazed herself. She has an expression similar to some of the ones the athlete had given her when they were in the game room. She gently moves a hand under Amber’s jaw and grazes her thumb over Amber’s bottom lip, making Amber’s breath hitch.

“Amber, are you sure this is what you want?” she asks, and even Vi looks a little nervous herself, as if worried she’d make a mistake and hurt Amber. 

Amber nods without any hesitation, eyes wide as she gazes up at Vi. “Positive,” she murmurs, not wanting to back down at this point. She’d gotten this far.

Vi nods slowly, smiling slightly. “If at any point you want to stop, just let me know and I will stop no matter what point we’re at, I promise.”

Amber flashes an amused smirk toward Vi. “Roger that, captain.”

With a snort and a roll of her eyes, Vi shifts Amber until she’s properly laying on the bed instead of laying with her lower half dangling precariously off the mattress, and with a slight smirk directed toward the smaller girl, presses onward.


	17. Chapter 17

Amber, once again, wakes up when the sun shines in her eyes, though this time she thankfully lacks a hangover, blinking rapidly as she slowly returns to the land of the living. She feels warm, snug as well, and once her eyes grow used to the sun’s light she accepts it’s warmth as it shines on her exposed skin, sighing out happily. 

She feels Vi’s arms wrapped around her waist, the girl’s face buried into the back of her head as she slept beside her. Amber smiles at the feel of her next to her, face tinged pink, and when Vi eventually stirs she turns around to look at her, watching her with a slight smile.

Vi slowly focuses on Amber as she wakes, peering over at her. After a moment of staring, she grins at Amber, moving one arm so that she could cup her cheek, running her thumb across the bone gently.

“Morning,” she murmurs, unable to not smile at Amber’s blushing face. Amber matches her grin with her own.

“Hey,” she breathes, giggling as Vi leans forward to pepper kisses across her face again, not stopping for a few long moments before moving back.

“You..have too many freckles, I can’t tell if I got them all,” she complains. “You’re lucky they’re cute.”

“Says the girl who also has freckles,” Amber retorts, poking one on Vi’s cheek for emphasis. Vi snickers softly, moving the hand that was cupping Amber’s cheek behind the girl’s neck so she could pull her closer, kissing her. Amber smiles into it, feeling Vi’s other arm pull on her waist so they were flush against one another again. They stray like that for a few moments before Vi eventually pulls away, sighing.

“I...hate to ruin this perfect moment, but we probably should get up and assess the damage downstairs,” she says. “Otherwise, if I don’t at least attempt to help Rhino might actually murder me, and I doubt you want that.”

Amber giggles. “Yeah, I don’t really want to lose the girlfriend I just managed to obtain, thanks, Vi.”

Vi chuckles, pecking Amber on the cheek before getting up, stretching her arms out with a sigh as she stands up fully, walking over to her closet to get dressed. Amber pulls on the jeans and jersey she had on last night, deciding that she’d put the socks and shoes on later. She had put her phone on the nightstand last night, and checked it to find a slew of unread messages from a group chat she, Meredith, and Skylar were in. They seemed to be from late last night.

 **Skylar:**  
Amb, Mer, it’s 2 AM and I think I’m the only one sober enough to drive. We should probably head home.

 **Meredith:**  
Haha, Amb’s staying here, trust me ;)

 **Skylar:**  
I’ll wait for Amber’s opinion on that, Mer.

 **Meredith:**  
Amb’s probably busy being rawed into oblivion right now, so don’t expect much from her

 **Skylar:**  
ffs, whatever, I’m sure whether or not that is indeed happening Vi can drive Amb home tomorrow. Are you coming or not, Mer?

 **Meredith:**  
Well...I was but there has been a change of plans ;)

 **Skylar:**  
Are you fucking serious.  
Fine, whatever. At least I don’t have to worry about getting your truck back. Have fun doing whatever.

 **Meredith:**  
Her name isn’t whatever but close enough.

 **Skylar:**  
GOODNIGHT.

Amber giggles to herself, glancing over at Vi, who was running a hand through her hair. “Mer’s still here,” she says, smiling as Vi walks over to her and starts working her fingers through her hair to try and make it look less messy.

“I’m not surprised,” she murmurs, apologising quickly when accidentally pulling on a knot. She carefully untangles it. “Besides, the more hands the better.”

“That’s what she said,” Amber immediately responds with, as if on instinct. Vi snorts and thwacks her shoulder gently.

“Nerd,” she mutters, pecking Amber’s cheek as she grabs her hand. “Come on, I’ll see what I can get you for..” she checks the clock, smirking in amusement. “Lunch in the kitchen, but we really do have to go down there,” she finishes, pulling Amber onto her feet. 

Amber nods with a dramatic sigh, though says nothing as she allowed Vi to lead her downstairs, almost immediately spotting Rhino, Max, and Meredith looking around the living room, a trash bag by the coffee table, and a row of bottles next to it. Meredith spots then first, and she smirks knowingly, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Good afternoon, lovebirds~,” she teases, cackling as Amber sends her a sharp glare. Rhino looks over at them as Meredith speaks.

“About time, I swear, I was about to go up there myself and drag your asses down here myself, this place is a mess.”

“Aw, don’t blame them, babe,” Meredith cuts in, grinning as Rhino squints at the pet name. “They’re young and in love! They need their alone time~.”

Rhino rolls her eyes. “Maybe a little less alone time for now would be nice.”

Vi smirks at Rhino. “Hey, Rhi, you wearing that shirt unironically? I thought you’d have lit it on fire by now.”

 

Amber glances over at Rhino, and with a giggle, she notices that the taller girl is wearing the shirt Meredith had gotten her for Christmas. Rhino scowls at Vi and responds by flipping Vi off.

“Go fuck yourself, Vi.”

“I don’t need to do that anymore,” Vi immediately fires back, smirking as Amber stiffens a little and Rhino shoves her face into her hands in exasperation.

“False,” Meredith interjects. “If I know Amber well enough, you’ve got a huge pillow princess on your hands. She ain’t gonna do shit to you.”

“Mer!” Amber gasps, face heating up as she glares at the bluenette, who is now leaning on the recliner, laughing so hard she needed it’s support. “I am not!”

“Alright Amb, keep telling yourself that,” Meredith cackles, wheezing. Amber’s face is beet red, and she glares at Vi as she starts laughing too.

Max, who had been silent this entire time, an annoyed look on his face, finally decides to speak up, rescuing Amber from any more embarrassment. 

“Can we...please finish cleaning up now? I’m sure both Amber and Meredith need to get home soon, despite how much either of you don’t want them to go,” he states, noticing Vi pouting in response. “Y’all have graduation soon, prom after that, and then you all can spend all summer with one another, but we need to clean up the house right now.”

After that, the five split up and clean around the house, and after around an hour of picking up trash, bottles, vacuuming, and scanning around for anything else, they meet back up, make sandwiches, and soon after that both Amber and Meredith decide to head home, Amber hugging and kissing Vi quickly before heading after the bluenette, who was already on the sidewalk.


	18. Chapter 18

Graduation came and went by faster than Amber thought, or, at the very least, the ceremony that is. She, Meredith, and Skylar were in the lobby of the school building right now. Amber and Meredith had braved the heat and had worn normal clothes underneath their gowns, stripping them off almost immediately after they had left the auditorium, much to Amber’s mother’s disdain. They stood in the lobby, chatting for a bit. Rhino and Max were nearby, clearly waiting for Vi, and Amber gazes around, searching for her girlfriend from where she stood. She smiles slightly, still new to calling Vi her girlfriend, still a little giddy when thinking about it.

When Vi still hadn’t shown up after five minutes of waiting, Amber starts to worry a little. Was something wrong? Was she hurt? Anxiety creeps up her spine as she begins to tap her foot idly, biting her lip nervously. 

She gets no reassurance after looking over to Rhino and Max either, as the two also seem a little confused about Vi’s absence, Max pulling out his phone as if to text her, Rhino gazing over and meeting Amber’s gaze, mouthing “Do you know where she is?” at her. Amber shakes her head in response, causing Rhino’s eyebrows to furrow in thought, turning back to Max.

Amber looks toward Meredith, who was chatting with Skylar about the upcoming prom that was tomorrow night, and opens her mouth to ask her to come look for Vi with her when the loudspeaker suddenly chimes and everyone in the lobby looks up, confused.

It isn’t until an obviously recognisable voice echoes through the speaker that Amber begins to dread not leaving earlier.

“Ahem, hey, friends, pals, fellow graduates, I hate to interrupt the festivities and whatever, but I have...probably about five minutes before the teachers manage to unlock the door here, so I need to do something real quick, it’s important,” Vi’s voice echoes through the lobby, and Amber begins to realise that this means the entire school could hear Vi, and her face goes red already from second-hand embarrassment.

Meredith is already beginning to laugh, and Skylar cocks an eyebrow. “How the hell did she even manage to get in there, surely there would have been one or two people in the office, right?”

Amber has been rendered speechless, unable to even form words. _‘What the fuck is she doing?! Is she trying to get herself in trouble?!’_

Amber learns too late on what Vi’s plans are when a guitar suddenly blares through the speakers, and Amber cringes involuntarily. She didn’t have the heart to voice how awful it sounded out loud, but she could definitely think it.

“Okay, okay, you know what, bad plan on my part, because I sure as hell am not singing right now, I can hear door handles rattling,” Vi suddenly says, the guitar, thankfully, stopping finally. “Well, anyways, y'all, I have a special announcement, mainly for my girlfriend, aka the prettiest girl in the world.”

Amber suddenly longs for death, and she watches as Meredith, Rhino, Skyler, and Max all turn to look at her, making her face grow bright red with embarrassment.

“I don’t know who she is,” she states, as two boys turn to look at her as well. “She must be delusional, you always have those kids at graduation, huh?” she tries to play cool, laughing awkwardly. _‘You’re lucky I love you, Vi, otherwise the next time I saw you I’d end up kicking your ass for this.’_

“Anyways, Amber, I love you a lot, you know,” Vi continues, seeming to somehow manage to make Amber’s face grow redder. “Like, so, so much, and I wanted to ask you this in the best way I knew, by being a sick-ass rebel and breaking into the loudspeaker room after graduation.”

“More like being a gay dumbass,” Amber hears Rhino mutter, and she nods in agreement, sighing. 

“So, Amber, babe, you wanna go to prom with me tomorrow, please?”

Meredith bursts into hysterics at the proposal, doubling over as Skylar gapes slightly, eyes wide. Rhino just shoves her face into her hands, groaning exasperatedly. Amber’s eyes are wide, mouth wide as her face feels as if she pressed it on hot coals.

“Oh, shit, they’re at the door now, fuck, fuck, okay, I’ll see you soon, Amb! Hope you say yes!” Vi suddenly cuts off the loudspeaker, and Amber doesn’t even skip a beat before stomping toward the main office, eyes narrowed as she tries to revert her face from dark red to it’s normal pale colour. As she leaves Meredith whistles promiscuously, making Rhino snicker slightly. 

Vi is being dragged out of the office with a smirk on her face, and she smiles over at Amber genuinely once spotting her. “Hey, babe!” she says, as the office workers glare at her and head back inside. “You like the promposal? You wanna go with me, right?”

Amber stomps right up to Vi, grabs the collar of her shirt, and kisses her a little messily before backing away. “Yes, I’ll go to prom with you, asshole,” she says, rolling her eyes. “But don’t you ever embarrass me like that again.”

Vi smirks broadly. “I can’t promise you anything, sweetheart.”

\------------------

Once Amber, Skylar, and Meredith arrived at Amber’s house prom plans immediately sprouted. It was set to be tomorrow night, and all three of them had their outfits ready already, but it was still fun to think about regardless.

As the three walked into Amber’s room, Amber remembers something, and she rushes over to her bedside table, pulling a twenty out of her wallet before walking over to Skylar, grabbing the girl’s hand and slapping the dollar into her palm.

“Here,” she says, sighing heavily. “I suppose you won the bet.”

Skylar blinks at her, looking confused for a moment before seeming to remember why she was receiving the money, a broad grin spreading across her face.

“I knew I would win!” Skylar says, and Meredith smirks, gazing at Amber’s blushing face. “See, Amb, I knew you two would work well together, you’re both adorable!

Amber chuckles. “Well, we..certainly do work well with each other,” she responds, self-consciously pulling up the neck of her shirt with a bashful smile. “...Anyways, y’all know who I’m going to prom with, what about you two?”

Meredith wiggles her eyebrows. “Oh, you know,” she says, smirking as both Amber and Skylar roll their eyes.

Skylar shrugs. “I don’t have anyone, but, to be honest, I’m really not that miffed over it,” she answers. “I probably wouldn’t even be going to prom if y’all weren’t.”

“I wouldn’t have gone either, most likely, if I hadn’t had met Vi,” Amber admits, shrugging. “I was...actually planning on hopefully bumping into her there a week ago, so I bought a dress already, or, well, my mom and I went out and bought one,” she explains, heading over to her closet, opening it and pulling out a dark red dress. It’s strapless, the sleeves resting where Amber’s biceps were, and has a slit that runs up to around mid-thigh. Meredith’s eyebrows raise and she whistles, whilst Skylar gazes at the outfit with wide eyes.

“Damn, Amber, that’s...gorgeous, but are you sure you wanna risk being dress coded for that? That slit might...be a little too high in some teacher’s opinions.”

Amber snorts, rolling her eyes. “If they dress code me on prom night for wearing a dress that doesn’t show cleavage or my ass then they might wanna get their priorities straight, there will be way more showing dresses tomorrow night, trust me.”

Meredith nods. “She has a point, Sky.”

“Well, forgive me for worrying about my best friend being kicked out of prom,” Skylar retorts, shrugging. 

“If she gets kicked out we can go throw our own goddamn prom, way cooler than whatever the theme this one is.”

“It’s steampunk, I believe,” Amber says, shrugging. “I’ve never seen a steampunk themed prom before so...I’m morbidly curious, to be honest.”

Meredith raises her eyebrows. “That’s interesting, I hope the clothes theme ain’t steampunk either, I have a black tux and that’s it, and I’m borrowing it from a friend so I would...rather not get my ass kicked for getting gold or brass paint all over it.”

Skylar chuckles. “Do you think the preppy girls at our school would wear steampunk style dresses to _prom?_ No, only a few people tend to follow the theme at prom dress-wise, don’t worry about it.”

Meredith nods, and Amber smiles slightly. “What’re you wearing, Sky?”

Skylar smiles at Amber. “I got a gold dress to match my lip ring,” she says, pointing at the gold ring resting in the centre of her bottom lip. It’s sparkly, has these slightly see-through shoulder straps, I really like it.”

“Damn, that sounds amazing, Sky, really,” Amber breathes, eyes widening at the image in her head. “I can’t wait to see it!”

“Same here, looks like we’re all gonna be sexy as hell at prom this year, hope the other attendees are prepared for it,” Meredith comments, smirking cockily as Amber and Skylar both smile at her.

“And after tomorrow, we’ll all officially be on the way to college, can you believe that?” Amber sighs, smiling. “Honestly, you could have told junior me that I managed to graduate high school, got together with the captain of the women’s basketball team, and that I’d be..happy and she’d probably laugh at you,” she adds. “I’m just….so glad that my life is where it is right now, I don’t regret a single thing.”

Meredith and Skylar glance at one another, smiling before they look over at Amber. “Soon we’ll all be wreaking havoc at campus, those professors better be ready for us,” Meredith says, chuckling.

Skylar rolls her eyes. “I swear, y’all both better behave yourselves, I’m not momming either of you after this year, you’re both adults with adult responsibilities.”

“Skylar, you said that exact thing last year,” Amber points out, making Skylar stiffen a little, eyes widening. “And then you proceeded to mom us throughout the entire year so we wouldn’t fail our classes.”

Skylar frowns, crossing her arms across her chest. “Not this time, I won’t. I swear to God himself, y’all are on your own.”

Meredith and Amber look at each other, smirking knowingly as Skylar scowls beside them.

“Keep saying that, Sky.”


	19. Chapter 19

Prom, or, rather, the night that prom happens on arrives way faster than Amber expects. It felt like it had only been minutes since Meredith and Skylar had gone home after discussing their futures together, and now it was the evening of the next day, and Amber was scrambling around to get ready.

She had showered a few hours earlier so her hair could dry out in time, and she made sure it didn’t look as messy as it normally did by combing it for once. She puts the dress on next, thankfully having a strapless bra to put on under it, and adjusts it comfortably with the help of Meredith, who had arrived an hour before only half dressed up in slacks and a regular t-shirt.

Now Meredith was fully dressed in the tux she had borrowed from her friend, and she’d even put on some makeup for the occasion, though it was really only eyeliner and eyeshadow. Amber’s mother had helped put on Amber’s makeup and would assist with anything else they needed help with excitedly, grinning broadly when seeing the two girls fully made-up. Meredith had always been seen as Lorelei’s second daughter of sorts, so she couldn’t help but gush over the both of them.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Amber smiles slightly. The dress does have straps, however they hang on her biceps, which shows off Amber’s sleeve tattoo perfectly, despite the strap covering the bottom of the A. As she looks over at herself, running her fingers along the tattoo appreciatively, she moves her fingers across her bare sternum and wonders if she should extend it, eyebrows furrowed in thought, making it so she hardly hears the knocking at the door.

Meredith jars her out of her thoughts as they race downstairs, Meredith making it faster since she wasn’t wearing heels. The bluenette, smoothing her hair a little as she heads down, opens the door exuberantly, leaning across it as to block vision inside the house.

“Well, hello there, ladies,” she greets, a teasing tone to her words. “How can I assist you this fine evening?”

Amber makes it down the stairs, hearing voices that sound like both Rhino and Vi. She can’t really peek over Meredith’s shoulder despite the heels making her a bit taller and scowls as she waits for Meredith to move.

The bluenette does eventually move after a minute, smirking broadly as she gestures dramatically at Amber. “Vi, your wife is waiting for you down the hall.”

Amber rolls her eyes at the display. “What did we propose with? Ring Pops? Because I sure as hell can’t afford a ring right now.”

Vi was fixing to respond to that, though as her gaze centred in on Amber she found herself lost for words, and Amber watched her girlfriend open and close her mouth like a fish, seemingly forgetting how to speak coherent sentences as she gaped at her.

Rhino is standing next to her, and gives Vi a concerned look, poking her shoulder. “Hey, Earth to Vi? Your gay is showing more strongly than usual.”

Vi blinks and takes a moment to compose herself before speaking. “Holy _fuck,_ Amber,” she bursts out, eye wide.”You...you look... _wow._ ”

Amber giggles, walking over to Vi and gazing up at her with a faint pink tint to her cheeks. “You look just as nice, babe.”

Vi was wearing a navy blue dress with light gold flowers patterned around the waist and below the chest, bordered by a darker gold border. The sleeves were short, ending along the bicep, her tattoo slightly covered because of it. There was a slit in the front too, and Amber flashes a knowing grin toward Meredith, thinking of Skylar’s concern the day before.

_‘If Skylar is right...looks like we’d both get thrown out...nice.’_

Vi grins broadly, moving her hand under Amber’s chin so she could move her head up to kiss her, gently and chastely pressing her lips against the shorter girl’s own before moving back. Amber looks at the ground bashfully before glancing over at the other two near them.

Her eyebrows raise a little at Rhino’s dress. It’s heavily revealing, hell, there are two slits on either thigh, and Amber wonders how the hell Rhino thinks she’s gonna make it five seconds into the school before getting pestered by teachers for it. Meredith, however, seems to have zero problems with it.

Amber looks back up at Vi, grabbing the girl’s hands before she stiffens a little, hearing her mother’s voice ring down the hall.

“Don’t even think about leaving this time! You didn’t let me have post-graduation pictures, you _will_ let me have pre-prom pictures, you two!”

Amber and Meredith both look back with soft sighs, gazing over at Lorelei as she trots over with a camera in hand. Her eyes widen at the sight of Vi and Rhino, and she smiles warmly at them both. “You two look gorgeous!” she gasps, clasping her hands together happily. “All of you do! Are you going to eat before going or not? I have a pizza in the oven if you’re all interested.”

Amber nods. “We’re only waiting for Sky now, so that’d be nice, mom,” she responds, grinning. “You two hungry?” she asks, gazing over at Vi and Rhino, who both nod.

“We were actually gonna suggest stopping somewhere before prom,” Vi chuckles, giving Rhino a side-glance. “But we’ll gladly accept an offer for free food, thank you,” she responds, smiling as Amber brightens at that.

Lorelei nods. “Well, you four come and sit at the table, and I’ll get you all plates and drinks!” she says, already turning and heading into the kitchen again. Amber leads Vi into the dining room, Meredith and Rhino following close behind.

Almost as soon as they get pizza on their plates about ten minutes later, Skylar arrives and situates herself at the table with the others, smiling and sliding into the conversation easily as they all chat and eat. Once they finish, the five get up and get situated to go. Lorelei stops them at the foyer to take pictures, however, and they all take a photo together before Amber and Vi get a few photos together. Meredith and Rhino get one as well, whilst Skylar crashes one of the few pictures taken for Amber and Vi.

After that, the five manage to get away from Amber’s mom and head to the school in multiple cars. Skylar, Meredith, and Rhino take Meredith’s truck whilst Amber and Vi take Vi’s car, just in case something happens and they need multiple cars.

Once arriving they hardly pass by the teachers at the entrance of the school building without getting stopped for their dresses. Skylar and Meredith get by easily whilst Amber, Vi, and Rhino both nearly get sent off before managing to bribe the two older women to let them in.

“I swear,” Rhino grumbles as they head inside and toward the cafeteria. “I get why those two would go after me, but neither of you are wearing anything that bad, fuckin’ hell,” she complains, and heads over to Meredith’s side before they enter the cafeteria, looking around.

Amber allows Vi to wrap her arm around her side as they walk, gazing curiously around the cafeteria. The entire room is covered in brass, gold, and bronze colours, with gears plastered on the walls. Everything is steampunk themed, it seemed, even the clocks on the walls had been changed. Amber gazes at it all wide-eyed.

“Damn,” Vi whispers, having also looked around. “I’ve been to a few proms before, seniors having invited me the last two times, and they’ve never looked this nice. Looks like they actually tried this time,” she jokes, snickering as Amber giggles a little.

“Maybe they knew you and I were coming,” she teases, smirking up at her girlfriend, whose own smirk grows cocky because of it.

For a while, Amber and Vi lean against one another for a good portion of the prom, only leaving to get food and drinks, and, in Amber’s case, to go request a song from the DJ up front. They had lost Meredith and Rhino a while ago, and Amber occasionally spotted Skylar either on the floor or near the snack table, and they’d wave at one another when spotting each other.

Eventually, after a while of swaying to the music and drinking some of the obviously spiked punch, Amber recognises the song she requested starting to play, and she grins broadly, spinning around to face Vi.

Vi raises an eyebrow at her girlfriend and smirks slightly when the girl grabs one of her hands. “You wanna go dance, cutie?”

Amber doesn’t respond, waiting for the lyrics to come on, before she follows along to the first lyric in response to Vi’s question.

“How ‘bout a dance? What do you say? I got some moves..that I’d love to show ya..”

Vi gapes a little, eye widening, and Amber notices her visibly swallow. “I-”

“Let's find a spot…” Amber murmurs, pulling on Vi’s hand so that they head to the dance floor. “And dance the night...away,” she adds, practically purring the lyrics out.

Amber does murmur the lyrics after that, not singing as loud as she did earlier as she sways around with Vi, occasionally spinning around and singing a particular lyric out loud.

She pulls Vi closer to her for one part, wrapping her arms around the taller girl’s neck. “How 'bout a dance...It's always fun...Come over here,” she smirks up at Vi, who smirks back slowly. “Let me get to know ya…”

She hums for the next few lyrics, moving away to spin around and sway along with Vi more, the warmth in her cheeks growing, though she hardly minds it.

“Tonight is the night I've been waiting for...even the moon looks just right,” Amber sings, smiling up at Vi, who looks absolutely mesmerised by the girl in front of her. “I'm sure the crowd will make room on the floor..When they see you look like you do…”

As the song comes to a close, Vi is the one to pull Amber flush against her this time. They’re near a wall now, having moved away from the dance floor, and Amber’s eyes lid halfway as Vi’s thumb brushes over her lip, moving down to her chin as she sings the last lines.

“You'll lose the blues...And you may lose your heart…” Amber murmurs this time, grinning as Vi pulls her into a kiss, wrapping her arms back around her neck as she stands on the tips of her toes, shivering a little at Vi’s hands holding her waist as she practically curls into the taller girl, humming softly.

She giggles as Vi pulls away and tugs her arm, leading her outside the cafeteria, then the school, and it feels like time is going on fast-forward as the two get into Vi’s car and drive off, not to either of their houses, but to a park nearby, getting out once they arrive. They hold each other’s waists, leaning into one another as they walk down the pathway, giggling softly.

Once they reach a bench that looks out on a small pond, they sit down, and Vi kisses Amber passionately for a bit before moving away, allowing Amber to lean on her shoulder as they look out at the pond.

“That was…” Vi breathes, running her hand along Amber’s tattooed arm. “Your voice is pretty, has anyone ever told you that?”

Amber chuckles. “I...think you may be the first,” she admits, shutting her eyes as she nuzzles into Vi’s shoulder a bit more. “Looks like you’re the first for a lot of things for me..lucky you.”

Vi smirks. “Well, I hope to be even more firsts, as long as they’re positive,” she responds, now combing the same hand through Amber’s hair. “Once we don’t have to be roommates with other kids in college...I wanna get an apartment with you, so I can hear you and see you on the daily,” she adds, smiling broadly at the idea. “We can dance more like that when we do, and just...exist together.”

Amber smiles into Vi’s shoulder, giggling. “I’d love that too..hope you can deal with me every day,” she jokes, laughing. “I’ve heard I can be quite the handful.”

“Oh, I think I can _handle_ you,” Vi coos, making Amber’s face heat up as she smiles. “If you catch my drift.”

“That wasn’t what I meant, you dork,” Amber rolls her eyes, moving away to look at Vi. “But...I’m excited to live near, or even with you. You make me really happy, and….I think the only thing I regret is that I didn’t ask you out sooner, to be honest.”

Vi laughs at this, leaning back against the bench. “Fuck, Amb, if I had known sooner I would have asked you out after the game, to be honest,” she admits, sighing. “But..I’m content where we are now,” she adds, smiling over at Amber. “You make me happy too.”

Amber grins. “I..cannot wait to possibly spend my future with you, good lord, I can’t,” she breathes, her smile threatening to break out of her face. 

Vi grabs one of Amber’s hands. “Screw possibly, make that definitely,” she says confidently, and she flashes that same cocky grin at Amber. “If I could wife you up right now I would, but I lack a ring, sadly.”

Amber giggles. “We could go to a Walmart and buy Ring Pops if you’d like,” she jokes, laughing as Vi bursts into giggles.

“I would, but…” she flashes a sly smirk at Amber. “I kinda wanna rip that dress off of you more, now that I think of it, and going to Walmart would just slow that, wouldn’t it?”

Amber’s face turns red, and she rolls her eyes in amusement. “Wow, how charming of you,” she teases. “But I’m not doing that in a park, you’ll have to take me home for that,” she adds, smirking. “Since you’ve already ruined a sweet moment.”

Vi shrugs. “Hey, I’m a little drunk, and that little stunt you pulled at prom plus how gorgeous you look right now just...put me in the mood, I dunno.”

“I hope you aren’t always in the mood, you’re gonna drive me up the wall if you are, I swear,” Amber teases.

“I can drive you up the wall anytime, my dear,” Vi shoots back, laughing at the flustered reaction she gets from Amber as a result.

“Jesus- fucking, holy fuck Vi,” Amber chokes out, face bright red. “I-”

“You gonna be okay, kitten~?”

Amber’s eyes widen, and she nearly chokes, sputtering. “Vi-”

“What? Something wrong, Amb?” Vi responds, smiling innocently. “I’m just giving you a cute name,” she teases, smirking as Amber furrows her eyebrows, standing up. 

Amber yanks Vi up from her bench. “Drive to my house, you can stay the night,” she says quickly, and Vi grins broadly, eye sparkling with excitement as she rushes past Amber, the smaller girl running beside her as they head back to the car.

\----

When Amber and Vi make it back they make sure her mother is sleeping before shutting the door of Amber’s room, and Amber grins when Vi shoves her toward the bed, already tugging on the zipper of her dress.

“Quit, or you’ll actually rip it off,” Amber giggles, resting her hands on the footboard of the bed as Vi makes purchase and manages to pull the zipper down. 

“That’s the plan,” Vi purrs, smirking as Amber shrugs the straps off her arms, allowing Vi to pick her up and carry her to bed as she does so. When Vi hovers over her eventually Amber finds the zipper on the back of Vi’s dress, pulling it down so Vi could get it off. Once the dress, or, well, the top part, at least, is off of Vi, she smirks down at Amber.

“You ready, love?”

Amber smirks up at Vi, wrapping her arms around her neck slowly. “Hell yeah, I am.”

Once they finish, later on, as Vi is sleeping beside her, arms wrapped around Amber’s waist, Amber moves closer to her girlfriend, nestling her face into Vi’s sternum as she breathes slowly, blissful. A part of her hoped that Rhino, Meredith, and Skylar had made it back safe since they had left them, however she was more preoccupied with her current position to really worry. They hadn’t called them both so Amber assumed they’d be okay, besides, all three of them were strong, and Amber knew Meredith wouldn’t let anything happen to the other two.

As Amber’s eyes begin to droop, she smiles thinking about her possible future with the girl next to her, her fingers idly tracing down Vi’s back. College was a summer away, however, Amber couldn’t help but feel nervous despite Vi’s reassurances. She pushes those foreboding thoughts away, however, not wanting them to sour the amazing mood she was in at the moment.

The warmth that permeates from Vi’s body, and the girl’s arms around her waist comfort Amber, and with a quick glance at the taller girl’s sleeping face she finds herself grinning as broad as she was earlier.

No matter what happened to them in the future, no matter what hardship or stressful situation, Amber had a feeling, no, she knew that as long as Vi was by her side she’d be able to persevere through it. With Meredith and Skylar at her back as well, she’d be able to push through anything.

And she was just fine with that.


	20. Epilogue

“You know, if I had known that you had so many boxes I would have called a damn moving company,” Vi grumbles after picking up the second box off of Amber’s floor.

“Hush,” Amber admonishes, smiling warmly over at Vi. “I’d help, but this tattoo still fucking aches, and the artist said that I should go easy on my shoulder and sternum for a bit.”

Vi looks up at Amber, pointing at her own shoulder. “I’m working with mine just fine, and we got ours together!” she states, narrowing her eyes. “Man up!”

Amber bursts into giggles and even Vi can’t help but smile at her. “Okay, fine, Ms High Pain Tolerance, I’ll help,” she sighs, getting up off the bed, leaving her open sketchbook behind as she heads over to help Vi out. 

Two boxes are moved into the small storage trailer hooked behind Vi’s car, and once they’re settled Amber and Vi both dust their hands off together, smiling at one another.

“Honestly,” Vi breathes, smiling over at Amber. “I don’t know how I survived freshman year without living with you, my roommate was alright, but...she wasn’t you.”

Amber smiles warmly at her girlfriend, leaning into her slightly. “But you survived,” she states, her smile widening as Vi’s arm wraps around her shoulders. “I had to live with a roommate that would only shower like...once every two weeks,” she reminds the taller girl. “I swear, I think I had to spend half my earnings from work on Febreeze just to keep the damn room from smelling like a sewage pipe.”

Vi snickers. “Well, lucky for you, you’re about to live with a girl who showers frequently, being an athlete,” she states, smiling as Amber shows visible signs of excitement at that.

“God, I’m so excited to live with you, not being able to be around you for more than one day killed me at times,” Amber says, gazing back at the trailer. 

“It’s not the biggest thing, one room, small kitchen, but...I thought about you when getting it,” Vi comments, chuckling. “It’s got a nice view from the windows, thought you’d like that.”

Amber nods. “It sounds great, Vi, I think I’ll love it,” she affirms, smiling up at her girlfriend. “As long as you and I have some space.”

Vi chuckles. “Seems like everyone is moving on well. You seen the apartment Rhi and Mer are living in right now yet?”

Amber shakes her head. “I’ve been to Skylar and her new boyfriend’s apartment, but I sadly haven’t been to theirs, have you?”

“Not yet, I was honestly hoping you had,” Vi laughs, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. “From what Rhi has told me it’s apparently pretty nice, though.”

Amber nods, smiling. “I’m glad everyone is getting on well, especially since junior year, back when Meredith and I didn’t think we’d even graduate high school.”

Vi grins. “Well, look at you now, Amb,” she says. “Nineteen years old, alive, well, and doing fuckin great in college,” she adds, patting her girlfriend on the shoulder gently. “I’m proud of you, and I’m sure Mer, Sky, and your mom are too.”

Amber grins genuinely at Vi, pressing her face into the taller girl’s shoulder. “You forgot something.”

“What’d I forget?” Vi questions, cocking an eyebrow curiously.

“That I have an amazing girlfriend who loves me dearly,” Amber answers, blushing a little as Vi’s eye lights up in glee.

“Guess I did forget that, but you’re not wrong,” she says, pulling Amber in for a quick kiss. “And I’m glad to have a girlfriend who also loves me dearly,” she adds, arms now wrapped around Amber’s waist.

Amber looks up at her with a loving smile. “Well, loving girlfriend of mine,” she breathes, hugging Vi briefly. “You wanna go inside and take a break? I’m starving, and I’m sure we can find a movie to watch,” she offers. “I’m feeling horror, maybe? Or shitty romantic comedy?”

“Shitty romantic comedy sounds nice,” Vi confirms, smirking. “I love making fun of those with you,” she adds, watching as Amber slips free of Vi’s grasp and already begins to head toward the house before suddenly stopping.

“Oh, Vi, here, catch!” she suddenly calls, pulling something from her pocket and tossing it toward Vi. Vi catches it easily, hearing something crinkle as she does.

“What is…?” Vi questions, cutting herself off as she opens up her hand to reveal a red Ring Pop. She gazes at it confusedly for a moment before remembering prom night, and she finds herself grinning broadly, rushing after Amber, who sounds like she’s opening the wrapper of her own Ring Pop.

“Fuck, _yes,_ Amb!”

And life continued as normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it! Thank you so much for reading if you made it this far! I really appreciate it!

**Author's Note:**

> Everyone except for Vi, Max, and Rhino belong to me!  
> Vi, Max, and Rhino belong to: http://tokubiko.tumblr.com/  
> My Tumblr is http://commandersmartass.tumblr.com/


End file.
